


Flirting with Death

by Applesaday



Series: A Million Ways to Say It [6]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Dark Swan Queen AU, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-02
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2018-03-10 03:51:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3275639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Applesaday/pseuds/Applesaday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina takes the old adage of 'flirting with Death' a little too literally. But Death doesn't really seem to mind. Dark Swan Queen. For SQWeek</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god I don't even know what possessed me to do this thing.
> 
> Swan Queen Week v.4
> 
> Prompt 7: Forbidden Love
> 
> Really, I don't know. I wrote this in a day and I'm just leaving this here. I saw this one one post on tumblr a while back that for the life of me I can't find, but anyway, it goes along the lines of one person that keeps killing people in other to ask Death out on a date. Plus I saw Book of Life yesterday night [I recommend everyone to watch it because it is great], and remembered that the last SQW prompt from yesterday was Forbidden Love so I guess this is the result!
> 
> Like I sort of implied in the summary, this is Dark Swan Queen, since it does teeter on the darker side of life [geddit?].
> 
> Also on the realm of fair warning there is one tiny mention of suicide [not outright but also not implied], talk about death, and Leopold things.
> 
> Let's get this started!

* * *

 

The first time Regina met Death, it was while she held Daniel's lifeless body, crying as she watched her mother leave the stable. The dark hooded figure appeared without a sound or a word, startling Regina to the point that she yelped and let go of Daniel's body in fright, backing away, trying not to trip on her cloak as it was spread out beneath her.

"Wh-who are you?" she asked, her voice already scratchy and broken from all her crying, but also breathy and quiet from fright.

"Death," was all she said.

Regina's eyes widened. She had heard that people claimed to have seen the menacing figure that was Death. Imposing and unidentifiable, they would whisk away those that had passed away. But Regina had no idea that Death was a woman.

"You're here for Daniel," Regina redundantly stated.

"I am."

"Please," Regina pleaded, looking to where she assumed Death's eyes were. "Please take me with you."

"It is not my place, neither is it your time," Death simply replied.

But Regina at that moment was not deterred in her pain. Her true love was gone, and her mother was sending her off to marry the repulsive King Leopold. "Can't you make an exception?"

Death sighed, and moved to crouch in front of Regina. "I am not allowed to."

"Not allowed to, or don't want to?"

"Both."

Regina attempted another tactic. "Can I at least speak to Daniel one more time?"

Another sigh, but Death conceded, standing back up and turning to thin air. "You have 5 minutes, and like all ghosts, he is translucent."

Regina glanced to where Death was looking, and let out a teary gasp as she saw Daniel materialize.

She spoke to him, pleading him to forgive her for what happened. Daniel was understanding, and made her promise one thing.

"Promise me that you won't live in regret for my death. I am gone, and you are destined for greatness Regina. Go and get it, and don't ever let anyone walk over you again. Be happy."

"I will," she promised with a solemn nod. Regina wished she could hug her lover, but it was not to be, and her 5 minutes were up. Death walked out of the shadows where she had been waiting while her charge and Regina spoke. Turning to the cloaked figure, Regina attempted a smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," was her response, before both she and Daniel disappeared.

* * *

"Excellent, my apprentice, you have mastered it!" Rumpelstiltskin gleefully exclaimed as he watched Regina squeeze the other girl's heart to dust. "And just in time to meet an old friend!"

Regina turned to where her teacher was pointing, and recognized Death.

"We've already met," Death said with a hint of amusement.

"Oh really?"

"Daniel," Regina explained, keeping her eyes trained on Death, who was looking down at the girl she had just killed.

Rumpelstiltskin's eyes widened in understanding. "I see," he said, although he knew it fell on deaf ears.

Once it seemed that Death was done, she turned to them. "You're losing your touch Rumple, she's not exactly your usual type of student."

"Ah, that's because she was a test for my apprentice here." The Dark One pointed to Regina, who was still staring intently at Death. He knew that his student was no longer focused on her lesson, and he rolled his eyes. "I will see you tomorrow night for your lesson, dearie."

It seemed that broke the young brunette out of her reverie, and she turned to her teacher, before nodding. "Yes, thank you for giving me another chance."

He said nothing, and just disappeared in a cloud of dark smoke.

Regina was crestfallen as she wondered if she had upset or disappointed the Dark One again.

"Don't take it to heart, he's always been broody." Death was still there, and Regina turned to give a shy smile.

"I just don't want to mess up another chance." It was hard to tell what Death might be thinking as Regina couldn't discern anything from her. Not receiving an immediate response, she decided to change the subject. "How long can you stay?"

"As long as I want really," was the response with a shrug.

Regina furrowed her brows. "But what about...the other uhm, dead people?" She felt awkward just asking it.

What she received was a rich laugh, certainly not one that she would have expected for such a sombre figure. "You are quite eloquent."

She let out a dignified huff. "I'm working on it."

"I see. Well to answer your question, I am in many places at once, different realms, countries, kingdoms."

With a nod, she understood. "So there are many Death's?"

Death shook her head. "No, just me, but I can duplicate myself, and have helpers."

"Doesn't it get depressing though?" Regina asked. "Having to witness so many people dying?"

"Not always. Some people are happy, and welcome me with open arms. Some people are reunited with long-lost loves and I get to watch as they dissolve into tears and meet again. It's really quite touching."

Regina nodded. She would probably do the same if she was faced with Daniel. Looking up at the sky she saw that it was dark out. She probably should get back to the palace lest she wishes to answer probing questions regarding her whereabouts so late. Thankfully her mother was no longer in the picture so Regina didn't have to answer to her anymore. "Would you accompany me home?"

"Certainly, your Majesty," Death said with a small bow.

She made a face at the title. "Please don't call me that."

Death didn't ask for any explanations, instead just amending. "My apologies, Regina."

Regina discovered that she liked hearing Death say her name. They walked in silence, or rather, Regina walked in silence. If she wasn't seeing Death keep pace with her, she'd have thought she was walking by herself.

Suddenly, a branch snapped under her foot, and Regina's eyes widened, bandits came from all around them, surrounding them.

"Well well well. Looky what we have here. Rich blood here was walking by her lonesome. What do you say boys?" One of the bandits sneered, clearly the leader. Hearty guffaws answered him.

"I'm not alone." Regina hated how pitiful her voice sounded. She wished she knew more magic to get rid of these scumbags.

Death spoke up. "They do not see me. To them, you are alone, but worry not."

The mood shifted suddenly. The bandits gasped as Death materialized in front of them. Regina felt the air grow immensely colder as it seemed that darkness had taken hold of the area. Regina saw her lift a gloved hand and all 10 men flew back as they were thrown at tree trunks.

The air was filled with pleas of forgiveness and mercy, but Death only had eyes for the burly bandit leader, who was still suspended against the tree he had been thrown against. Regina was watching transfixed as Death lowered her hood, revealing the back of a skeletal head. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting for someone named Death, but she supposed it fit.

The bandit leader was absolutely quaking with fear. Even Regina had chills running down her spine as she heard her companion speak. Death's voice sounded scratchier and less human as she declared, "Vincent Tethys, you have hurt many people for your selfish needs throughout your life. You will be taught humility and respect."

Tethys was then released, and Regina just knew the man was dead as he collapsed onto the ground in a mangled heap, and didn't get up.

Before she could react, she screamed as a rough arm grabbed her, encircling her neck, feeling the cool blade of a knife near her throat. She scrambled to try and get loose, but no success.

Death whipped around, and Regina saw for the first time, that where the eyes would have been on the skeleton, red fire was in its place. It was like seeing burning embers. The bandit holding her slackened his grip ever so slightly at being faced with Death.

"Unless you wish to face the same fate as your leader, you will release her." It seemed the man was at least smart enough to value his own life, and let Regina go with a sharp shove.

She went tumbling into the ground, stopping the fall with her hands and knees, certain they were scraped from the rocks and twigs beneath her. Sitting up, she glanced and saw that she was alone with Death. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't make eye-contact with the dark cloaked figure, so instead she looked at her hands and knees through the scraped fabric of her riding pants, trying to assess the damage.

"Are you alright?"

Regina whipped her head up before looking away again. It seemed that Death realized that her appearance was still a tad bit intimidating. She went to kneel by the young woman, and changed her appearance. She also recalled the darkness, returning warmth to the area, not realizing that she'd reacted so strongly.

"Hey, if you want, I can heal you." Regina looked up once more, hearing Death's more normal-sounding voice. But what made her gape was seeing how Death looked now with her hood down. No longer was she looking at an intimidating skeleton with fiery eyes, but rather a young woman with luscious blonde hair, and vibrant hazel-green eyes.

"I-I..." Regina was speechless. She was convinced that she would never fall for anyone after Daniel, but here she was, incoherent at seeing Death, and how gorgeous she looked.

Death, for her part, let out a chuckle, as her gloved hands glowed white and healed Regina's scrapes.

"You have magic?" was the only thing Regina managed to say.

"I do," she responded with a smile.

Regina then realized her manners. "Oh, I'm sorry, thank you. For healing and rescuing me."

"It's not a problem," Death brushed it off, standing up. She extended a hand for Regina, to help her stand up.

Once they both were standing, Regina needed to ask. "I thought you weren't allowed to kill?"

Death knew what this was about. "I'm not allowed to kill anyone by request, nor should I mess up the times for my own selfish deeds. But for Tethys, it was his time to go, and I was meant to end his life. Does that make sense?"

Regina nodded slowly, trying to make sense of this new information. "So you know how and when everyone will die?"

She shook her head with a smile. "Thankfully no, only when it is their time am I privy to the reason."

They were silent, and then Death said, "Come on, I'll return you to your room, you should arrive just in time for dinner and no one will notice your absence."

The white smoke took over before Regina could say anything. When it cleared, she was alone in her room.

* * *

For the next year, Regina didn't see Death again. But she still did plenty of research in books found in the castle's library, keeping them away from Snow's prying eyes, lest she wanted the loud-mouthed brat to blab to the King that Regina was thumbing through dark magic and macabre books searching for more information on Death.

It seemed that Death was a slippery person. She was apparently lucky enough to have seen her face, since the skeletal head was the most anyone had seen. There was also mention of Death having magic, but not much was expanded on it. Really she found nearly nothing that she didn't know before.

The only thing she found was that only magic-users would see Death freely. Everyone else could only see Death if she allowed it.

Regina had tried to ask Rumpelstiltskin, but she didn't get anything from him. He would only smirk at her, and say that she should ask herself.

"But how?"

The Dark One sighed. Sometimes his apprentice could be quite thickheaded. "Death appears when someone dies, so...go find a poor soul on the precipice of death, or kill someone yourself, you know how."

Regina first tried to see if she could attend some of the public executions, but she was constantly told that a woman shouldn't have to witness such things, and marched right back around.

After a week of fruitless attempts, she scowled at the lone guard who had barred her way. Letting out a frustrated growl she plunged her hand into the guard's chest. With a strangled gasp, the man was frozen in place as he tried to make sense of what was happening when she removed his heart. Regina ignored his horrified stares and strained pleas, pulverizing the heart without second thought, letting the dust fall to the ground by the man.

"I'm going to guess you were trying to summon me." Regina grinned at hearing Death appear. She whipped around, and smiled at the hooded figure.

Putting on her most innocent expression, Regina asked, "Me? Now why would you think that?"

"The guard did nothing to truly warrant your wrath."

Regina shrugged. "Debatable. I despise being told my place continuously. My being a woman somehow means I am supposed to be queasy with death."

Death approached her with an unseen smirk. "You don't seem queasy in front of me. Nonetheless, what did you wish to speak to me about?"

So Regina explained that she was curious about finding more about her. What she kept to herself was the nagging question of what relation they had. Were they friends? In her mind, Regina considered them acquaintances. Regina, the unhappy Queen, was an acquaintance of Death. It was a laughable matter.

Walking to Regina's chambers, no one paid any attention to the Queen. They saw her alone, as always, face betraying nothing. Once the door closed, her shoulders slumped as she relaxed.

"What do you wish to know?"

They were seated on opposite sides of a settee near the fireplace. Regina bit her lip, and said, "First, could you lower your hood? I - just, do you keep it up for any specific reason?"

Death lowered her hood, and Regina could once more see the gorgeous face and blonde curls that had captivated her for the past year. "Not really, I just never see a reason to lower it."

"No one has ever asked you to?"

Death shook her head. "Not many. You, Rumple at one point practically demanded it, and this one poor bastard who was on the verge of dying for an entire decade. He annoyed me so much that one day I snapped at him and showed myself. Man nearly had a heart attack and died then, but he ended up living for 2 years more."

Regina smiled at the story. "Have you always been Death?"

"No, it's like a job-"

Regina interrupted with a frown. "Job?"

The blonde chuckled. "Right, you guys don't have that word yet. It's work."

She nodded in understanding. "Wait, 'yet'? Do you travel in time?"

"No no, that is for Time only. I can merely travel to different realms, some already have that word in use. But anyway, no, I inherited this from Hyperion. He was a good man. Taught me a lot."

Regina inquired, "Then, were you a human before this?"

"No."

This shocked Regina. "Aren't you curious though? Don't you want to experience what it's like?"

"Sometimes, but I prefer like this."

Regina didn't believe that. "Have you even tried it?"

"Once, suffice it to say that the moment people found out what I really was, things changed and I became a pariah." Death gave a mirthless chuckle. "Not that I blame them. Who would want to be with Death?"

Regina fought against saying that she wouldn't mind, for fear that it wouldn't be well-received. So their conversation went to other topics. She learned quite a bit about Death, and then they reached another interesting topic.

"Has your name always been Death?"

With a laugh, she shook her head. "No, my actual name is Emma, but due to my profession, I can't exactly carry any other name except for Death, nor would anyone know my name for too long."

"Would you like to be called Emma?" Regina asked.

Looking at her intently, it seemed that the blonde was trying to gauge what Regina was up to. Finally deciding, she nodded. "That would be nice."

* * *

When Leopold was finally murdered, Regina was overcome with joy. She was free. She no longer had to be that man's arm-candy and be at his beck and call for whatever he wanted her for. The Genie was taken care of, and she could breathe easy. She wanted to collapse on the bed she was sitting on and sleep soundly like she hadn't in many yars.

"I never would have thought that I'd see someone so happy to hear someone had died."

"Emma." Regina hadn't seen her in a number of months, and she regrettably wasn't there when the King died, since she was locked in her own room due to the rumours of her infidelity.

Emma lowered her hood and strode over to the Queen. "Are you alright?"

Regina nodded, trying to keep the tears at bay, but still felt them pooling at the corners of her eyes. "I'm finally free. Leopold...he wasn't the kindest man, and it feels so liberating."

Emma went to sit beside Regina on the bed. "I'm sorry Regina, I wish I could've helped, or done something."

"It's fine, but thank you." Regina was truly thankful that someone else did care enough. The only other person was her father, who had helped her to be free of this cage.

Thinking about it for a second, Emma reached out and wiped the tears there. She hadn't ever touched someone so intimately, and certainly not with her own hands. Next thing she knew, Regina was smiling at her. It seemed ironic, but Regina felt safe around Emma; she didn't feel the need to be the Queen persona that she had been building.

In a bold and unexpected move, Regina burrowed into Emma's chest. This felt surreal for Emma, she didn't think anyone would seek comfort in Death's arms, but here was Regina. So she wrapped her arms around the Queen, and they stayed there for a while in silence.

* * *

"I'm blaming you for my overtime." Regina smirked and turned around, seeing Emma make her way to her.

With a shrug, Regina said, "It's not my fault they weren't cooperating."

"So I've heard. How goes your search for Snow White?" Emma and Regina had kept a constant stream of conversation ever since the Evil Queen had surfaced. Relentless and merciless, she was prepared to scorch the land to find and kill Snow White. Quite a few years had passed since Leopold's murder, and Regina had grown into herself, seeking to end all those who were responsible for her unhappiness all those years ago. Only Snow White remained, and she was determined to find her, even if it was the last thing she did.

"Nowhere. These people are all loyal to her! It's infuriating," Regina sounded like a child as she pouted, watching as Emma did her job. Once the entire family was taken care of, Emma stood and lowered her hood, walking over to Regina.

"Do you ever wear anything other than that ghastly black robe?" Regina asked, glancing at the black fabric that draped over Emma.

Emma looked down at her clothes with a frown. "What's wrong with this robe? It's comfy!"

Regina blinked, puzzled at the slang.

"Sorry, comfortable. But yes, I can definitely change if I want to." With a flourish, white smoke climbed to cover Emma, and once the smoke dissipated, Regina felt her mouth go dry.

Emma was wearing a gorgeous blood red dress, a generous v-cut showed cleavage that was previously well-hidden, and it did things to Regina's mind that made all the blood rush to her core. Her hair was gathered in a bun, showing off a splendid neck.

Regina licked her lips and had an idea. "Would you like to accompany me? There's to be a ball tonight..."

Emma smirked. "I'd love to."

* * *

The ball was a spectacle, and Regina felt like the luckiest woman ever to have Emma with her. She noticed the whispers wondering where Regina had procured the gorgeous blonde, but she ignored the gossip. Emma was here with her, and she couldn't be happier. Well, maybe if Snow White showed up on a silver platter so she could crush her heart and be done with this crusade, then she wouldn't be able to be happier.

Right now she was busy talking politics with the dignitaries of a foreign kingdom, and her eyes scanned the crowd. She found Emma easily enough, but she was not liking the attention her companion was receiving by a lecherous prince.

She murmured a quick apology as she excused herself and made her way to Emma.

"Prince Richard, may I help you with something?" Regina asked, sliding a hand to rest at the small of Emma's back, leaving no room for question as to what she was implying.

"Your Majesty! My deepest apologies, I was just taking my leave." Prince Richard quickly fled and left both women alone.

Emma turned and smirked at Regina. "I could have handled him you know."

"I do, but I still felt he deserved to be reminded of the Evil Queen's wrath."

Her companion chuckled at the quip, and Regina felt inspired. "Would you dance with me?"

Emma agreed and soon enough they were twirling around the room. "Congratulations Regina, you're officially dancing with Death."

Regina let out a laugh, finding a smile coming easily to her. "No, I'm dancing with Emma."

The vibrant smile she received in response was everything to Regina.

In that moment, Regina decided to take action. "Come on," she said, taking Emma's hand, leading them outside of the ballroom, and onto the quiet side hallway.

"Is everything okay Regina?" Emma asked.

Without preamble, Regina brought their faces together, and closed the distance by joining their lips. Regina felt Emma's initial reluctance, before wrapping her arms around Regina.

Before their kiss could deepen, Emma backed off.

"Emma?" Regina asked, her voice sounding small, something which hadn't happened in years.

"I'm sorry, I can't." In a puff of white smoke, Emma was gone, and Regina was left alone.

* * *

The curse was upon them, and Regina waltzed in, seeing a tear-stricken Snow White cradling her beloved Charming, who was bleeding from a chest wound. Two of her guards stood behind her nemesis, in front of the wardrobe.

"Leave us," Regina commanded her guards. She could handle the Charmings, especially if one half of it lay near death. Death. Would Emma come to collect Charming? She hadn't seen Emma since the kiss, not even when she had crushed her father's heart to enact this curse, but now wasn't the time to dwell. "Were you thinking of running away, sweet Snow?"

Snow looked much like Regina did many years ago, cradling her love to her. "Please Regina, don't do this."

"On the contrary Snow, I  _want_  to do this, and you need to suffer. No one is escaping this curse."

Soon enough the curse broke through the windows. Regina looked up gleefully, Emma far from her mind. Maybe now she could get her happy ending.

* * *

Regina was bored. Her life in Storybrooke was always the same. Groundhog Day had just come out, and she was finding a kindred spirit in Bill Murray's character, perpetually stuck in a loop. She could get away from Storybrooke for a while, but she always wound up finding her way back to Storybrooke, like a magnet called to metal. Though she was thankful she could return when she wanted, unlike in the movie where he was stuck there eternally and woke up every day in his hotel bed without fail.

On one particular day visiting New York City, Regina was struck with a thought. Maybe she could find Emma. She was too far away to take someone's life in Storybrooke, and trying to kill someone here would do her no good, especially without magic. So she walked up to a cruiser and knocked on the window, waiting until the man rolled down his window.

"Can I help you ma'am?"

"Yes Officer, I was wondering if you could direct me to the Metropolitan?" Regina asked.

While the man explained, she listened to the blaring of the dispatch radio. "There's a 187 over on 5th and 47th..."

On one of her many bored days, Regina had checked out a book on police dispatch codes from the Storybrooke Library. 187 meant homicide. 5th and 47th was just a little bit away.

"Did you get all that?" the officer asked.

She smiled at him. "Crystal clear! Thank you!"

* * *

A crowd was gathered, but police was trying to draw people back. The deceased was already covered and being loaded onto a vehicle. She couldn't find Emma anywhere, but then again, she had no magic here, so she wouldn't be able to readily see her. Emma had once told her that she had acute hearing. She hoped it'd work.

"I need to see you Emma,  _please_ ," she whispered.

Nothing happened, and the officer in charge of crowd control was ushering her to leave, citing that there was nothing of interest for her to see. So Regina began walking back to her car, dejected.

"Regina?" She could barely hold her excitement as she turned and saw Emma, hair tied up in a ponytail, wearing a leather jacket, looking like an average New Yorker.

Without thinking, she just launched into the woman, hugging her tightly. "I missed you."

It had been more than a decade that they hadn't seen each other. "Me too," Emma responded, hugging her back with as much force.

Once they parted, Emma seemed to realize something. "Wait, how are you here?"

So Regina explained, while Emma listened with interest. Thankfully for their subject topic, in a busy city like New York, they were in no danger of being overheard as they walked.

"And now I'm here, trying to not go insane."

Emma chuckled. "And you tried to locate a homicide to find me? I'm flattered."

Regina said nothing at first, because she wasn't sure what to say. Then she took a deep breath and stopped walking, turning to Emma, who had also stopped. "I know that you probably don't want to talk about it, but I just want to get this out here. I care about you Emma, and that kiss all those years ago, it wasn't just an in the moment thing, and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go on a date?"

"Regina..." Emma started, before sighing. Shifting to stand closer to Regina, she continued, "You know who I am, and the billion reasons why this wouldn't work."

"Emma, I don't mind who you are. I'm not afraid of you. Please try to give this a chance. All I'm asking for now is one date."

The blonde sighed. It was true, Regina was one of the few people in history who treated her as Emma, not Death. And Emma was head over heels for the gorgeous woman in front of her, but she never in a million years believed that it could go anywhere. For who would fall for Death?

"Okay, let's do this."

Regina's smile was worth it all for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, plot bunny out of the way! For the most part at least.
> 
> I might make a second part to this or something, but only if there's interest, this is certainly not along the vein of what I usually write.
> 
> I'll now return to writing my scheduled stories.
> 
> I'd love to know your thoughts!


	2. Even

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is actually being continued!
> 
> I'm the first to be surprised, but people kept liking this and being intrigued with it, so I'm just going to roll along with it.
> 
> I have a plot thought out, and already got the chapters figured out. It'll be 7 chapters long in total [like it says on the tin], so after this, there'll be 5 more chapters, and it'll probably skip around in time but still make plenty of sense [I hope!].
> 
> Now, let's get going shall we? Because nervous Emma makes terrible death puns and I should probably put her out of her misery [metaphorically speaking of course].

Emma had chosen the restaurant, a popular Italian place, having visited it plenty of times before. She concluded her recommendation by saying the food was to die for. Regina smacked her arm for the pun. "Honestly," she grumbled.

"Oh come on, you can't expect me to not make all the puns," Emma smirked, waggling her eyebrows.

Regina just gave Emma a glare, and said, "If they're good, then sure. But that was an atrocious pun."

Rather than answer her, Emma just opened the restaurant door with a flourish, and gave a small bow. "After you, my lady."

"Well aren't you quite chivalrous," Regina said as she entered the establishment.

After she entered, Emma quietly sneaked up behind her and whispered in her ear, "Well, they do say chivalry is dead," before walking forward to talk to the hostess and get them a table, leaving a glaring Regina. But the glare instantly softened when Emma turned back around and gave her a genuine vibrant smile that made the brunette's heart skip a beat. Soon enough they were ushered to a table, and they pored over the menu to pick their food.

Dinner was a simple affair. Regina spoke more about Storybrooke, finally capitulating with, "You should come visit sometime."

"I just might. You're making it sound like it's simultaneously a marvel and the most boring small town you've ever had the pleasure of seeing. Which is ironic since you created it," Emma pointed out. "Plus, you could always leave, make your life elsewhere."

"Well it's not exactly easy to make a place for everyone to suffer from banality while also giving myself comfort and luxuries. And I can't leave forever because I always find myself...I don't know, missing it, I suppose. It's a contrived logic, but Storybrooke is home."

Emma gave a wan smile and nodded, sipping her wine. "Makes sense; after all, you are essentially living life outside of your intended realm, you're going to feel discombobulated if you're far away from what's familiar, no matter how much you hate them. Though it does make me curious, what poor fate befell Snow?"

Regina grimaced. "She's Mary Margaret here, a mousy a teacher with no aspirations in life and no romance."

"Yet she still lives. In fact, no one has died in that town," Emma said with a hint of mischief.

"I considered it when trying to contact you, but I was too far away to make it work when the thought struck me. Besides, what's the fun of getting rid of people if they won't fight back? Or even react? Plus I have no magic, and this world's methods are too crude and messy."

They were lucky the restaurant was very busy, otherwise their conversation would have turned plenty of heads. As it was, they were able to talk with relative freedom without anyone overhearing. Before long, dinner was over and it was time to pay. Regina insisted on footing the bill, and Emma put up a brief fight before relenting, not wanting to admit that she didn't have any money.

Making their way outside, Emma stuffed her hands in her pockets. If she was honest with herself, she didn't want the night to end quite yet.

"Would you accompany me back to my hotel?" Regina asked, bringing her arms to cross in front of her, keeping the sharp autumn air from nipping her too badly. They had walked here, since New York City was a city better transited by foot from what she'd heard. The hotel wasn't very far, so she hoped Emma would agree to it.

She did, and they walked silently for about a block before Emma threw caution to the wind and brought one arm out to pull Regina closer to her side. Emma was warm, Regina wasn't sure if it was because of her powers, or if she was generally warmer and didn't feel the cold. She felt heat seep into her body and flashed Emma a grateful smile for her thoughtfulness.

Soon enough - and way too soon for Regina's liking - they were at the entrance of the opulent hotel Regina was staying at. Emma was looking anywhere but at Regina, seeming like a frightened animal waiting to flee. "Do you have somewhere to be?"

Emma's head whipped to face her, brows furrowed in confusion. "No, why?"

"You seem a bit antsy," Regina responded, readjusting the purse in her arms.

"Oh," Emma seemed to notice that perhaps she wasn't being subtle about her discomfort. "I'm just not sure how this is supposed to end really. Do I just leave you? Am I supposed to accompany you upstairs?"

Regina then remembered that she was dealing with someone who hadn't had too many human interactions in the past, and she smiled a bit at Emma's innocence. "Well it depends on you I suppose. What do you wish to do?"

Emma's eyes widened in surprise at the prospect of having to decide. "Well, uhm, d-do you want me to stay? I mean, I would like to, but I can understand if you don't, and I don't want to pressure you-"

She paused when Regina took a step forward to give Emma a kiss on the cheek, effectively frying all of Emma's brain circuits. "I'd love it if you'd stay."

Without further ado Regina grabbed Emma's hand and led her up to her room with an infectious excitement. They spent the night cuddled in each other's arms on the hotel bed, trading and stealing kisses while talking a bit more until Emma felt Regina's breath even out as she lightly snored.

* * *

They continued to meet fairly frequently, always in NYC, but never really talking or implying that they would take this anything further than a casual fling. It had become a welcome escape for both women, seeing someone familiar that they could freely speak to and who would make them feel wanted. Weeks turned to months, which then turned into years, and despite never really settling when they would meet next, they always knew that they'd see each other soon enough.

Then one day they were talking about happy endings while sitting on the patio of a deli, and Emma was too curious to not ask, "What would your happy ending be?"

No one had ever asked Regina that before, and it took her a moment to wonder what it would be. She knew Emma wasn't just asking about her vengeance on Snow White, which had diminished lately with seeing the schoolteacher having such a humdrum life. Seeing her old nemesis so down on life made her feel accomplished, like her revenge was fulfilled. "I'm not sure. I suppose it would be to have a family."

"Oh?" Emma asked, raising an amused eyebrow. "The great Evil Queen wants the domestic life? Consider me intrigued."

Regina just gave her a glare for a moment before breaking into a smile and smacking her arm playfully. "Yes yes, mock all you want. Is it so unbelievable that I want a family?"

"Not really. You want to be loved Regina, that's been clear. Sure your revenge has taken precedence most of the time, but I know you," Emma said, extending her hand to rest over Regina's hand on the table. She gave a comforting squeeze and then caressed the side of her hand with her thumb.

"Yes, you do," Regina agreed with a smile. Then she felt bold enough to continue speaking. "I have actually thought about what my family would look like."

Emma gave a soft grin and then fell right into Regina's trap. "And what does your family look like?"

With a wistful sigh, Regina began to describe. "Well I want to adopt children. I think 3 would be ideal, but I would like to see how 1 would go before trying for more..." she saw Emma nod, encouraging her to continue, and continue she did, "And you'd be there too."

"Would you ladies like some dessert or coffee?" the waiter had picked the most inopportune time to arrive, making Regina silently curse him and wish she had her magic so she could teach him a lesson in timing. But alas, this was the real world, so Regina just gave him a saccharine smile after seeing that Emma was frozen on the spot, and ordered an espresso for both of them. After he left, Regina noticed that thankfully, Emma hadn't moved her hand away.

"I'm sorry Emma, that might have been a little too much." There was a reason as to why they never spoke about what their relationship was, or what it could mean. It was the same reason why Emma never visited Storybrooke, and why she didn't get a place of her own in this world. The reason went as far back as that night when Regina invited Emma to attend a ball with her, and kissed her out in the hallway before being pushed away.

Fear.

Fear of what this would mean for both of them if they let this continue or move to something more. To the waiter that had just deposited their coffees with a smile, hoping for a good tip, the two women were just regular people. Not fictional characters, or obscure concepts. They were Death and the Evil Queen, they weren't supposed to be anything more than just stories told to children to explain about the inevitability of life, and the struggle of good vs. evil. But to Regina, they were real. Not only that, but Regina wanted this to become something more. This song and dance of theirs had been fine at first, she thought she'd be fine with a casual relationship, but she never did anything half-assed. And she wanted Emma, fully, or not at all. Though if she were honest with herself, she wasn't sure she'd be happy without her.

"No, I suppose we've avoided it long enough. But let's wait until we're in your hotel room."

* * *

The silence in the room was palpable, but Regina was willing to give Emma all the time she needed - within reason, of course.

"You..." Emma swallowed as her voice caught for a moment. "You want to have a family, with  _me_?"

Regina saw that Emma was looking intently at the coffee table in front of them, because Regina wanted to give them ample space, as if they were conducting a casual business meeting. "Yes. You've known how I feel about you Emma. It hasn't changed. I mean, I love seeing you like this, being intimate without giving it a name, but I want more, I want this to have a name, don't you?"

Emma finally looked up to Regina, and realized their seating arrangement. She got up and made her way to the couch Regina was on, sitting beside her so their thighs were brushing. "Are you sure you really want this? I mean, you already know all the reasons I would list on why you might regret this, and I know you'll have a perfect answer to shoot down every single one of them, but what if it doesn't work out?"

"But shouldn't we at least try? Like you said, I already know all your worries and fears, as well as your hopes and dreams. I know you, Emma, and I want this."

It was true. Emma had slowly but surely gotten around to telling Regina about how she still hoped to one day experience this crazy thing called life. Despite her previous negative experience, she was still very curious, and if she were being honest with herself, being with Regina these past few years made her want this even more. "Okay," Emma said, meeting Regina with a soft kiss to her lips, "Let's try this, but I want you to promise me something, okay?"

Regina nodded, too elated for words.

"It's going to take me a while to move in all the way with you, okay? If I'm going to do this, I need time to train my helpers on picking up the slack, because I want to be with you 100%, nothing less."

"So you're not going to be Death anymore?" Regina asked, confused. She thought Emma couldn't just quit or leave.

"No no, I'm still going to be Death, I'm just going to be taking a long-earned vacation, helping out every now and then," Emma responded with a grin and a wink. "But anyway, like I said, it's going to take me a while, probably less than a year. I'll join you when I'm sure everything's settled, and I'll be visiting you in the meanwhile, but promise me you won't wait to adopt, okay?"

"Yes, of course, I'll start the process as soon as I get back to Storybrooke." Regina was over the moon right now, so when she surged forward to kiss Emma, toppling both of them so they were laying on the couch, she was chuckling between kisses, and what made her even more happier, Emma was too.

This could work.

* * *

Regina wrenched the door of her house open, eyes widening at seeing Emma there, forgetting momentarily of her anger that made her open the door with such ferocity. "Emma," she breathed.

Emma took one hand out of her jean's pocket to give a shy wave. "I thought I should come by to visit you, see how the place was like."

It had been a month since they'd last spoken, and Regina was starting to miss her girlfriend. It made her giddy just to even think of her as her girlfriend. "Hi, yes come on in."

Once they were both inside and the door was closed, Regina cupped Emma's face and gave her a lingering kiss. She squealed when Emma wrapped her arms around her and brought their bodies closer before kissing her again. After they finally managed to disentangle themselves, Regina ushered Emma into the study while she made them something to drink.

"So, are you ready for the new millennium?" Emma asked with a small smirk, accepting the cup of coffee.

Regina sat right beside her with a mug of her own and scoffed. "Of course, I don't know what everyone's panicking about, honestly."

They laughed for a few moments before Emma asked how the adoption process was going.

"Terrible. They told me the application process was taking a long time because a lot of people were looking to adopt and a bunch of other bureaucratic nonsense so I might have to wait years to get approved. I tried to even talk to Gold to see if he could grease some wheels, but he just stonewalled me, being his usual annoying and creepy self."

Emma was pensive for a moment. "Gold is Rumple, correct?"

"Yes, and still very much the diabolical imp he was in the Enchanted Forest, just without the magic and less scaly."

"Oh that I have to see. I'll go talk to him later, and see if I can't get him to change his tune."

Regina looked at Emma, surprised. "You would? But I'm not even sure if Gold remembers his old identity. He probably was cursed and is just like that by default."

"I doubt it, if there's one thing I know about the guy, is that he wouldn't plan for this entire scheme without being able to hold all the cards. No, he remembers. Just let me handle it. He might be willing to do it for an old friend." Emma kissed Regina's forehead and used her free arm to snake over Regina's shoulders and pull her closer.

* * *

Emma entered the shop and the overhead bell rang to alert her presence to Gold, wherever he was hiding. Seeing no one in the shop at the moment, she set around to peruse while she waited. After a few seconds, she faintly heard a thump of a cane and uneven steps. Without turning around, she called out, "Somehow this shop fits you. it's creepy and showcases all your trophies."

When she turned to face him, she saw Gold's surprise disappear into a familiar smirk. "Well thank you, is there anything I can interest you with? I'm sure my shop has something for your taste?"

"You can cut the act, Rumple. Or as you go here," Emma pointed to the window decal, "Mr. Gold."

Gold gave a chuckle. "Never could fool you, now could I?"

"Yes your pitiful attempt all those years ago was a valiant though pointless effort," Emma smirked, remembering the incident.

"Well I had to try. Now, how can I help you, old friend?" Gold asked.

Emma smiled, walking up to the counter where Gold stood, his hands resting on his cane. "I want you to help Regina with her adoption process. No tricks, no deals. Am I clear?"

Gold thought about it for a moment, and then he nodded. "Very well, but I would like to ask for a favour."

"What would you need?" Emma asked. She could hazard a guess, after all, there was no such thing as a coincidence.

"A child for a child. I want you to find Bae, and bring him to me."

Emma nodded thoughtfully. "And what if he doesn't want to come back here?"

Gold kept his face impassive as he hissed, "Find him first, and then we can discuss more."

With a smirk, Emma said, "What makes you think I don't already know where he is?"

As she turned to the door, leaving a slack-jawed Gold behind, Emma called back, "He's quite a decent poker player!"

* * *

When Regina opened the door again - this time much calmer now that her anger towards Gold had diminished, knowing Emma was taking care of it - she once again smiled at seeing the subject of her thoughts was at the door. "So how did it go?"

"Good, he's going to help," Emma said, entering the house and kissing Regina's cheek as she passed by her. Depositing her boots by the door, she made her way up the small steps and stood in the foyer. "But there's a little favour I have to complete."

"It wouldn't be him if it wasn't," Regina murmured, coming to stand in front of Emma, arms crossed. "What do you have to do?"

"Bring him back his son."

"Ah, I see..." Regina vaguely knew of the story with Rumple's son, but Emma now filled her in now on the finer details, and why the curse was really cast.

Regina's jaw was set as she said, "Then, I was just a pawn for him. And like a fool I let him use me."

Emma had taken her into her arms in an instant. She said nothing, just held Regina tightly and rubbed her hands comfortingly. Regina shook as she silently cried, and after a few moments, Emma decided that standing in the middle of the foyer was just not the place. So with a bit of manoeuvring, she picked Regina up, bridal style, and began to carry her over to the living room couch.

"Emma what are you doing?" Regina yelped, pausing in her crying to clasp her arms around Emma's neck.

"Making ourselves more comfortable," was all Emma said before she sat down on the couch with Regina on her lap, her arms cocooning Regina to her chest.

"How long have you known?" Regina asked after a few moments of silence.

"That this had all been a ploy to get his son back? Just when I went to talk to Gold. When you told me the curse was cast in order to get you your happy ending, I wasn't sure why Rumple would seemingly do something for you with no gain for himself. When I met his son, also in New York, funnily enough, I thought that this had just been luck at play, but it's clearly not the case."

Regina nodded. She knew Emma was incapable of lying, it was part of her role as Death. She could tell when anyone was lying to her, but she herself couldn't lie. Shifting the subject, she asked, "Are you going to do it?"

"Of course. And then we can have our family."

"Thank you," Regina murmured. "I will also sweeten the deal for him."

Emma looked confused at Regina's cryptic words. "How?"

"Do you remember his paramour, Belle?" Regina asked by way of explaining. After Emma nodded yes, Regina added, "Well I might have kidnapped her and am keeping her locked up in this underground facility underneath Storybrooke Hospital. If I return her to him, it'll be another point in our favour."

After Emma got over her surprise, she asked, "Are you sure you want to do this? What if he doesn't take well to the idea?"

"He will. He loves Belle."

"Oh I know he does. She's a nice enough lady, but Rumple isn't known to let it go of anger and grudges that easily. Do you want me to escort her to him?"

Regina shook her head. "No, this is something I'm going to do alone. But thank you."

* * *

"Alright, alright! I'm comin', jeez," a voice grumbled from the other side of the door where Emma was pounding on it.

Neal Cassidy opened the door and stared at Emma in confusion. "It's Thursday."

Emma rolled her eyes, "Yeah and it looks like we have some cloudy skies and chances of showers. Any other facts you want me to spew out?"

Neal chuckled at Emma's sarcasm, moving aside to let her in. "Nah, I'm just confused, we usually have poker on Tuesday's."

Emma nodded and entered the loft. "Are you that desperate to get your ass handed to you with our weekly game that it's all you think I'd come here for?"

"I swear I can't win against you, it's rigged!" Neal grumbled after closing the door and heading to the table where his tea mug had been placed while he answered the door.

"Well it's more like you can't cheat with me, in any way. But don't worry, as you recall, your old man tried to cheat on me too, except we weren't playing poker."

Neal smiled wistfully at the memory, bringing the mug to his lips. It was the first time they had met, and how their friendship blossomed.

"Speaking of, he wants you to come by for a visit," Emma nonchalantly mentioned.

His reaction was to choke on his tea and cough. "Come again?" he said after his coughs diminished. "He's  _here_?"

"Well, a small town in Maine actually, but yeah, this world."

"And why are you his errand lady?" Neal asked, narrowing his eyes. Emma and his dad might have been acquaintances bordering on friends, but he didn't think for a moment someone, not even his dad, would be able to order Death around.

So Emma explained the favour she was doing, why she was doing it.

Neal had a shit-eating grin by the time she was done. "Look at you, big softie. But alright, I suppose I've delayed the inevitable by some 300 years, might as well get it over with."

That was how the duo found themselves on the way to Maine in a beat up and antique yellow Bug. It would be a few hours of travel for them, and with Neal's nerves, Emma had taken over the driving, and she was actually enjoying it.

"You can keep the car, y'know? In New York I have no use for it, but I've got no one interested in taking it. Just say the word and it's yours," Neal said after they got out of the city.

Emma considered his offer. If Emma was going to be living in Storybrooke and all that, she needed a car of her own, and despite the irony of it all, she did like yellow. "Alright, deal. How much for it?"

Neal just laughed, "Oh I am not about to charge you for anything. I still owe you money for the last 5 games we played. Just get us to this mythical Storybrooke in one piece and it's yours."

It was true, Emma had never driven before, but she knew the basics, and was catching on fairly quickly. The ride was actually peaceful and entertaining, and soon enough, Emma was taking the route she recalled Regina to have described to her in order to get to Storybrooke. Before long, Emma was stopping the car by Gold's shop. It was time for Neal to face the music.

After dropping Neal off, Emma drove to Regina's mansion of a house and knocked on the door.

"I really should just get you a key," Regina chuckled as she answered the door.

Emma was glad to see her girlfriend was in a smiling and joking mood, it meant that Belle's drop-off went well. But she still wanted to know the details. So once they were seated on the kitchen stools, Emma asked, "How did it go?"

Regina sighed. "About as well as it could have gone. Belle - Lacey here - was compliant enough to accompany me without any problems. I did have to practically drag her away from the library, which means I'll probably have to open it for the public if I want to remain in her good graces, but she was happy to get out of her cell. Once we arrived, Gold was torn between taking Belle into his arms and lynching me. I think then he was truly wishing for his magic back.

"But surprisingly enough, he calmed down and thanked me. He also apologized to me for tricking me into casting the curse...I don't suppose you have anything to do with that?" Regina asked with a smirk.

"Well, actually, now that you mentioned it..." Emma smiled sheepishly, letting the sentence hang. Before she left Storybrooke to go fetch Neal, she barged into Gold's shop and told him in no uncertain terms that if he harmed even a single hair on Regina for something she might do later in the day - she refused to give any details, leaving Gold baffled - he would sorely regret it. She also demanded he promise to apologize for his trickery in the curse casting. It seemed he had followed her demands to the letter.

Regina gave Emma a kiss. "I had figured that he wouldn't do it out of his own volition, so thank you."

"No one's perfect Regina, and everyone deserves second chances. You were angry at him and you kidnapped Belle. But now that you want to turn a new leaf and you return her to her beloved, it's only fair that he doesn't punish you for it."

* * *

The world was alive with music and dancing, everyone celebrating the new millennium with vigour, but Emma had eyes for only one place that she wanted to be at right now. With her newly minted key, she let herself into the house, quickly finding her girlfriend nursing a glass of champagne and wistfully looking out the window of her bedroom to the fireworks. Storybrooke might be cursed, but they new how to ring in the new year.

Snaking her arms around her waist, Regina gave a brief yelp of surprise before melting into Emma's embrace, her back resting on Emma's front.

"I missed you, darling."

"And I you. Happy new year," Emma responded, peppering kisses at the base of Regina's neck.

"Happy new year," Regina breathlessly responded, turning in Emma's embrace to face her. Downing half of the flute's contents, she offered the rest to Emma. Once it was empty, Emma quickly deposited the glass in a nearby table, forgotten as they only focused on each other. Soon enough they'd have all the time in the world with each other, but right now, it had been months since they last saw each other, and they needed each other like air.

Clothes were quickly divested of, and they tumbled onto the bed in a flurry of kisses and touches, promising a memorable night for them both.

* * *

It would be another few months before they would see each other again, and when they did, Regina had a new addition when she answered the door.

"Emma!" Regina exclaimed, surprised. She saw the suitcase by her feet and the satchel on her shoulder and she grinned. "You're moving in?"

"I am. And who's this?" Emma asked, smiling down at the bundle in Regina's arm as they went inside, door closing behind them with Emma's boot kicking it shut.

"This is Henry, he's currently sleeping, but when he wakes up I'm sure he'll be very excited to meet you." Emma watched as Regina was completely entranced with the baby, her smile and wide eyes were something that she wanted to keep seeing forever if she could.

* * *

"Mama!" Henry made little grabby hands to get Emma to pick him up, and she did with a grin.

"I think this counts as one point in my favour on 'whose name is Henry going to say first'," Emma said, turning to Regina who was busy at the stove.

Regina glared at Emma. It had been a fun wager they had going, trying to see who Henry was taking to more. "Oh please dear, him repeating a syllable of your name  _for another word_  means absolutely nothing. Besides, not only does your name have less syllables than mine, but he started saying mommy long before he said mama."

Emma narrowed her eyes playfully at her girlfriend. "It's not my fault that your name is long. I told you that you could use Gina to be fair, but you didn't take."

"Because that's not my name."

"Well if we're going to be pedantic, then he should say our full names," Emma retorted with a smirk.

Regina gave an exasperated sigh. "He's a baby, Emma, not a parrot. And you don't even have a last name."

"Semantics," Emma shrugged. "So are you still meeting Kathryn and Mal?"

After Emma had moved in, they had decided to make the most out of the cursed town, and attempt to be social with the cursed inhabitants. Much to Regina's chagrin, Emma was quite close with Mary Margaret and her friends, even thought it hadn't been intentional, they had clicked much like Regina had with her friends. Kathryn had been a surprise, but the ex-princess had just sat down in front of her one day and their friendship had blossomed. Maleficent had been a more complicated matter. With Lacey's keen interest in the library, Regina had to open it again, but she couldn't risk that Maleficent the dragon got out. No one in Storybrooke would buy it for a second if a dragon appeared, and she had no idea what would happen if she somehow escaped into the real world. So, with Emma's magic, they transformed Maleficent back into a human, and her cursed identity kicked in. Now she had two friends who made her laugh and teased her mercilessly in a way that the Evil Queen would never have allowed anyone to do.

The Evil Queen didn't do friends, but Regina was quickly finding herself wanting to hang out with even Emma's group of friends.

"Yes. Apparently Jim was having some issues with their new furniture, so Kathryn was going to stay and help, but they figured it all out. Mal is always ready to get drunk. Soon enough, the Rabbit Hole will be dried up and I'll have to expand the liquor inventory. I never would have guessed a town full of fairytale characters could drink so much."

Emma just chuckled. "If the curse ever actually breaks, I get the feeling Granny's will be usurped as the town's main hangout for the Rabbit Hole."

"Please, I made their lives inadvertently better with indoor plumbing, and modern technology," Regina quipped. "They'll thank me, just watch."

* * *

"You know, I'll be honest," Ruby said, sitting back down after she refilled everyone's drinks. "I never would've pegged Regina as being capable of having a relationship, or a kid."

Emma looked amused, even more so as all the other women around her nodded too. "Oh, and why's that?"

"Because! She's always been this rigid mayor lady and then you come around and all of a sudden she's smiling, and answers my greetings enthusiastically! What did you do to her?" Ruby answered, her tone rising as she explained, and with the diner being empty, her voice echoed.

"I uh, never realized? She's always been the same to me," Emma replied with a dismissing shrug.

"Consider yourself special, Emma. I know Regina's always had a deep burning hatred for me," Mary Margaret piped up.

Emma bit her lip, knowing that to the cursed woman to her right, it was baffling as to why the mayor of the town inexplicably hated her guts, but there was no way to assuage her that the hatred ran deep, though she was slowly letting go of that hatred. Very, very slowly. "Maybe I'm just lucky."

"Very lucky," Lacey agreed, downing her fresh beer glass in a gulp. Maybe Regina did have a point regarding this town's drinking habits.

Ashley decided to shift the conversation, her hand unconsciously going to rub her pregnant belly, "So how are you guys dealing with Henry? Is he making too much of a fuss?"

"About as much of a fuss as a 2 year old boy can make at that age. But Regina and I have got it covered. Or rather, she's got it covered, and I help, and try not to panic. She's much better at this than I am," Emma hadn't told anyone, especially Regina, but she felt bad seeing how inadequate she was with Henry compared to Regina. Her girlfriend had a great intuition when it came to Henry, being able to distinguish Henry's cries and what they meant. Emma basically just picked him up and tried to fruitlessly decipher the cries before Regina swooped in and figured out what to do. "But he's getting spoiled by both of us."

Because of course Henry charmed everyone he met, and Regina couldn't resist making sure their child would want for nothing. "Speaking of, I should probably be heading back home. You ladies get home safe, okay?"

She parted ways - after getting a hug from everyone - and waved goodbye to Granny who was counting her earnings for the day from behind the counter. Making her way back home, her smile widened as she got closer to the white mansion. Coming inside it was quiet, but after listening for a moment, she heard Regina's voice, telling a story to their son.

It was easy to transition to this, sharing a life with Regina, raising a son together. It was almost blissful. Of course, there were times when Emma had to go do her job and leave for a few days, but Regina understood and just made her promise to come back quickly. Whenever she returned she'd pamper her girlfriend with a gourmet dinner and make it up to her with kisses and sex, a great combination that worked wonders.

Entering Henry's bedroom, she found Regina sitting on a wide armchair, Henry on her lap, a children's book open. She just stood by the doorway watching silently, a smile playing on her face.

"Mama!" Henry squealed, looking up and noticing her.

Emma pushed herself off from the door frame and made her way closer, kneeling by Regina's legs so she was eye-level with Henry. "Hey buddy, are you having fun reading with mommy?"

Henry hummed yes while nodding vigorously.

"We're reading fairy tales," Regina added with an amused smile.

"Oh really? Then don't let me stop you!" Emma responded, jumping to sit beside Regina in the cozy armchair.

With a laugh Regina continued reading from the book, until she felt Henry fall asleep against her tummy, his body splayed between them. bookmarking the page they were on, she closed the book and placed it on the table beside the armchair. Emma moved her arm to bring Regina even closer, and they fell asleep like that, the three of them cuddling in the armchair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So!
> 
> Is everyone still interested in seeing where this goes? Next chapter would deal with the curse, and its aftereffects~
> 
> Anyway! Meanwhile I have some four or so drabbles I've been meaning to write but haven't gotten around to yet, and then I'll be updating The Things We've Lost followed by A Thief in the Night!
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this!


	3. You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go with more from this wacky story with more than 6,700 words! And I made a cover for it so woo! It's on the first chapter if you want to check it out.
> 
> Plenty of things happening here, so let's get started.
> 
> Just reminding that this is a fic surrounding darkish themes, so talks on death will happen.

It was late at night, and Emma was taking a bath. She had just returned from a long trip, and needed to wash herself from all the soot and grime she had acquired.

The house was dark, everyone was asleep, which was why she frowned when she felt a presence enter the bathtub behind her. She was rinsing her hair, so she couldn't turn around right away and look, but when she did, she found Regina standing there, gloriously naked.

"Hey, did I wake you?" Emma asked, running her fingers through her hair as she got the last of the shampoo out, trying not to ogle her girlfriend.

Regina was honest as she replied, "Somewhat. Well, actually I was sleeping quite lightly, hoping to hear you come back."

Emma gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry. For the waking and for the long trip. It was a tough battle."

"That many casualties?" Regina asked, moving closer to Emma.

"Kinda. The terrain in that world made visibility really bad, so you can imagine how  _that_  ended."

Flinching in understanding, Regina gave a nod. "But you're back."

Emma grinned. "Of course. I always do."

While that was true, Regina couldn't help but wonder 'what if'. Emma's job wasn't exactly safe, and although she was technically immortal, she still worried. Emma had told her that before Hyperion there was another, Cassandra, but she had been usurped from her position by a spiteful group of mortals that believed their friend had unjustly died; Emma declined to give her details how that had happened, just gave her a general idea. So Regina was somewhat afraid that her lover might be taken from her.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Emma asked, closing the gap between that little bit more.

Regina's response was to surge forward and claim Emma's lips with her own, her arms looping around Emma's neck, drawing their bodies flush. They kissed under the shower head languidly. It had been two weeks since they had last seen each other, and the need to feel close to each other was paramount.

They ended up spending quite a while of time under the spray of water, catching up and bathing the other. Emma was appraised with Henry's growth. The nine year-old boy was starting fourth grade in the morning, and he was absolutely ecstatic.

That became apparent when Emma went to wake the young boy up the next morning while Regina prepared breakfast, and found him already awake, preparing his backpack meticulously. "Ma! You're back!"

Emma smiled and went to sit on the edge of the bed, luckily finding a spot that wasn't covered in brand new school supplies. "I am, the trip took a bit longer than I thought, but hopefully now I'll be here for a good long while."

"Good. I missed you." Henry went to give Emma a hug, and Emma wrapped her arms tightly around the young boy's growing frame. She had missed him so much as well. When they parted, Henry returned to getting his stuff ready. "So what was the trip for? More people lost their jobs?"

Henry wasn't aware of Emma's actual job, due to the crazy and dark nature of the profession, but because Emma was unable to lie, they created a fictional job that sounded much like her role as Death that she could vaguely talk about. So they came up with having Emma work as a human resources employee for an out-of-town company, specializing in helping laid off employees transition.

"Essentially," Emma responded with a solemn nod. Technically it was true, the deceased weren't working anymore. "It took a bit longer than I expected, but now I have time off, so you can tell me all about how excited you are for starting the school year."

The enthusiastic rambles ran through Henry's packing, and breakfast. At one point, Regina looked at Emma as if to say 'see? I told you' and Emma just smiled fondly and nodded.

Together the small family walked Henry to school, and the couple watched Henry make his way the rest of the way to the school until he was inside. Once he was gone, Emma held her arm out for Regina to loop her own arm around, and they started to walk to Town Hall.

"So I was thinking about what you told me before I left," Emma began, "about getting a job in town."

Regina turned to look at Emma, intrigued. She had suggested that Emma get a job in Storybrooke, otherwise she would grow bored doing nothing all day. Sure she had enough work as Death that she didn't have to pick a second job, and she did work for enough time that she deserved a break, but Regina had seen Emma getting restless again. When that had happened in the past, Regina had set Emma on organizing the town's paperwork, an extremely dull job that Emma actually seemed to enjoy for some unnatural reason. Then again, considering who she was, unnatural was somewhat relative. But she had suggested to perhaps get something more permanent. "Oh?"

"Yeah, I figure you're right, and I thought about helping Graham. He told me has space on the budget for a deputy, and it seems the most this town gets is a cat stuck in a tree," Emma explained. "So it'd be an easy job to keep me occupied."

That was true enough, Regina had seen the budget space, and Graham had mentioned it the last time he went to drop off paperwork. "Alright then, we'll just do the application for it and then you can be welcomed to the force, Deputy."

Emma grinned smugly at the title. They headed to Regina's office, where Emma got started on the paperwork. After a few minutes of filling in the information, Emma stopped and looked up at Regina. "Uh, question."

Regina looked up from her paperwork with an inquisitive look. "Very well, answer. What is it?"

"What do I put for my last name?" Emma asked.

They had managed to get away for the past nine years without giving Emma a last name. She was always just Emma, she'd never had one, and didn't have the need for it.

"I don't think Mills would fit..."Emma continued.

"No no, it wouldn't make sense unless we were married," Regina shook her head. "But let's consider something that would make sense. Is there a particular name that you like? Or a word, perhaps an animal? It doesn't have to be overly complicated, but you should want it to stick."

Emma thought about it for a while. "How about Swan?"

Swan could definitely work. But Regina was nothing if not curious. "Certainly. What inspired you?"

"I suppose swans are fascinating in their own ways. They are a bit tricky when they die though," Emma commented. Emma didn't elaborate, and instead continued to write on her form. Once she was done, she handed it over to Regina for her to check.

"Very well, Deputy Swan. Everything seems to be in order; I'll let Graham know that you'll be coming by later," Regina said after a few minutes of looking over everything, smiling conspiratorially when Emma winked at her.

* * *

In the afternoon, Emma went over to pick Henry up with her newly minted deputy badge clipped to her waistband. Henry, who had come rushing out excitedly, paused with what he was about to say the minute he saw the shiny addition. "Whoa ma, you're a cop?"

"Yep, just started," Emma responded proudly.

"But what about your other job?" came Henry's innocent question.

"Oh this is just so I don't get bored on the downtime." Figuring that she knew why Henry was asking, she added, "Don't worry kid, I'm still going to be around, you know I love you and your mom very much, right?"

Henry nodded, seeming infinitely more reassured via the answer to his silent question.

"So, how was school?" Emma asked as they walked back home.

"It was so cool! We're going to be taking care of birds!" Henry ecstatically said. "Ms. Blanchard is making it part of an experiment. We'll be building them houses and helping to feed them!"

Emma nodded, impressed. It definitely was new, and clearly a surprise. Mary Margaret had mentioned nothing the last time they talked. Then again, she was absolutely smitten with the newly woken David that she talked of little else when they met up.

Henry had continued speaking. "I've already picked mine, he's super colourful, and I've named him Aurelio! He likes the name."

"It's a creative name kid. Do we get to meet the bird?" Emma asked.

"If you guys sign the form then yes! Otherwise we just keep it at school," Henry explained.

"Well I'm all for it, but your mother might not be so easy to sway," Emma said. "Unless we do something to bribe her with?"

Henry grinned up at his other mother, liking the way she thought.

* * *

When Regina got back from work, she was almost overwhelmed with the smell of freshly baked cake wafting towards her. As she made her way to the kitchen, she saw Henry and Emma putting the finishing touches on a cake.

"What's the occasion?" Regina asked, startling the two.

"Nothing," Henry said, in a voice that was entirely too innocent to be genuine.

Regina narrowed her eyes and looked to her girlfriend, expecting an answer. "Emma?"

"What can I say, babe, he just got the urge to bake something for you," Emma responded with a dismissive shrug. Henry had been insistent that baking her something was the way to go, so she technically wasn't lying.

Still keeping her eyes narrowed and trained on Henry, Regina moved closer to him. "Very well, what do you want?"

Henry silently huffed, knowing he was caught. He explained about Aurelio, and promised he'd take care of the bird, but could he pretty pretty please keep him at home sometimes? Regina subtly glanced at Emma, seeing what she thought. Emma shrugged as if to say 'why not?'.

"Okay, but he's your responsibility, understood?"

"Yes! Thank you mom!" Henry exclaimed, going to hug her and Emma.

* * *

About a year later, Emma was returning from her shift at the station, eager to wind down and spend time with her family. She found Regina sitting outside in the backyard, reading a book.

"Hey you, having a lazy day?" Emma asked, leaning down over the top of the reclining chair to give Regina an upside-down kiss.

"Hmm, well I'm trying to enjoy the last bit of summer," Regina responded with a hum, smiling up at Emma. "How was your day?"

"Pretty uneventful. Archie lost Pongo, so I had to deal with that." Emma then looked around and frowned. "Where's Henry?"

Regina jerked her head towards the house. "He's inside, he's been sort of quiet every since I picked him up from school. I tried to talk to him, but he said everything was fine, despite not sounding like was fine at all, and I didn't want to press too much."

They had told Henry about being adopted last week, and while Henry had taken the news in stride, he still had been a bit sullen ever since then. Both women had wanted to give Henry his space to process it. Although he knew that both Emma and Regina loved him, he had probably been under the impression he was biologically related to at least one of them.

Emma frowned. "I'll try to talk to him, okay?"

"I'll go with you," Regina said, sitting up and heading inside behind Emma.

They found Henry in the living room, poring over a long book on his lap. "Hey kid, how was school?"

"It was alright," Henry glumly said, not looking up from his book.

Emma went to sit beside him on the floor. "Whatcha reading?"

Henry looked up at Emma, seemingly debating something before saying, "Fairy tales."

From a little ways back, Regina was halfway between frowning and panicking. The book Henry had wasn't one that they owned, and it seemed too fancy to be from the library.

"Ms. Blanchard gave it to me, she said she thought it might be an interesting read," Henry said. "And these stories aren't like the Disney versions."

That made Regina panic just a little bit more, and she made her way towards Henry, crouching on his other side. She recognized the scene on the open page. It was  _her_  crashing the Charmings' wedding. These weren't just random stories, it was a record of their past lives. What would Mary Margaret be doing with such a book?

"Oh yeah?" Emma was asking, clearly not noticing Regina's inner turmoil or what exactly Henry was holding. "How so? Do thing happen differently?"

"Yeah," Henry nodded, looking between his two moms. "And...they seem real."

Emma finally seemed to connect the dots, and looked up at Regina. "Why do you think so?" she asked, not looking at Henry.

"Because the characters there look like the people in this town!" Henry explained. Then he saw that Emma wasn't looking at him, and then turned to Regina. "Mom? Are these stories true?"

Regina wanted to lie, she wanted to say 'no!' and then steal the book in the dead of night to burn it, afraid of what such a revelation would do to their dynamic. She had done despicable things in the past, things that would terrify young Henry, and she didn't want to lose her son, she couldn't. But then she looked at Emma. Sweet Emma who encouraged her to be honest, that never judged her even at the height of her evil reign, and still loved her unconditionally. Surely Henry would think the same? After all, he had learned from Emma's morals.

"Yes."

Henry didn't look scared at the revelation, in fact, he looked surprised and even a little bit excited. Whether it was because she gave in to something so easily, or because he had just been confirmed to be living in a town full of fairy tales wasn't very clear. "Whoa, so you really were the Evil Queen?"

Regina smiled a bit and sat down, happy to see that Henry didn't flinch away or scuttle from her. "Yes, I was. Although I hope to consider this just a part of my past, it is very much true. But I promise I haven't been that violent and evil for a very long time."

He was absolutely fascinated, and then turned to Emma. "What about you, ma? Were you a fairy tale too?"

Emma chuckled and shook her head. "Not exactly kid. I did meet your mom in the Enchanted Forest, but I'm no fairy tale."

"Then what are you?"

"It's a long and complicated story, one that I will tell you one day when you're older."

"Not now?" Henry asked, pouting a bit.

"Not now. Trust me when I say that you're not ready for it."

Henry tried to work the puppy dog eyes, but Emma would not budge. He was way too young to have to deal with such a heavy topic such as death, no matter how much she hated keeping this from him. But maybe one day he would be ready. She just hoped he would be as understanding as he was with Regina.

Regina decided to veer the conversation back on track. "Henry, I know this is a lot to process, and you must have millions of questions," - Henry nodded, he was chock-full of them - "so we'll give you a few days to figure it all out, and when you're ready, you can just come to us and talk, okay?"

He once again nodded. Truth was, if it wasn't for his mom's uncanny resemblance to the Evil Queen in the story, he never would've guessed they were one and the same. His mother was so kind, it was hard to believe she was the most famous fairy tale villain at one time.

* * *

For Henry Mills, his entire life had just been turned upside down. Yes, it's true, he had been a bit down upon finding out that his moms weren't blood-related to him, but he had been getting over it. He knew they loved him very much, they always found time to care for him, let him know he was cared for, and he believed them.

But his teacher for the second year in a row, Ms. Blanchard, had seen him feeling down, and told him that she had a book she figured he would enjoy. She arrived the next day with the book in hand, and told him that fairy tales were full of stories about everything. Found families, beating the odds despite everything, and they all had happy endings.

He had been vicariously reading the book from cover to cover, having finished it earlier that day. That's when he saw it. At first he thought he was crazy, but Ms. Blanchard looked just like Snow White in the book did! Sure it might have been his imagination, but then he started to realize that there were people, people that he didn't remember knowing, also appearing in the book. Even his mom was there!

Despite her past intimidating role and appearance, he figured on asking her for her side of the story. But when he got home and his mom asked him what was wrong, he balked. What if he did the wrong thing by asking? What if she wanted to forget? What if Emma didn't know about it and he brought this up and destroyed everything?

And then when he was once again approached by his parents, he decided to throw caution to the wind. He saw how his mom's expression grew hesitant, but he could never find it in his heart to hate his mom. From what he read, the book was heavily biased, and his mom was not crazy, she was fun and happy and silly, especially with ma around.

What did keep his gears turning was trying to figure out how his ma fit into everything. She knew mom from the Enchanted Forest, but wasn't a fairy tale character herself and clearly had a shady past. What could she possibly be hiding?

He would find out.

* * *

Emma heard the door slam shut and looked up from her book. It was her day off and she had been enjoying the calm, until she heard Henry stomp into the house, seeming none too happy. She knew why; she wished she didn't, but she did, and she could only innocently call out, "Hey Henry! How was school?"

Henry came in with a deep scowl and tear tracks on his face, fists clenched as he threw himself at Emma, clutching her tightly. "Henry, what happened?"

"Aurelio's gone," Henry sniffed. "He's dead!"

"I'm so sorry Henry," Emma responded, heart aching as she brought her son even closer. The bird Henry had chosen had apparently been quite old, and he had simply keeled over from his age earlier in the day. She had personally overseen the transition, so she knew Henry would be beaten up over it.

She heard Henry quietly ask, "Why did he have to die?"

"It's a part of life Henry," Emma tersely explained, hating that she had to be talking about this to him. He was far too young, and she wanted to protect him from this.

"I don't like it. Aurelio was my friend!" Henry huffed, breaking from the hug to cross his arms.

"I know, but this isn't something you can control."

"I want him back."

Emma looked apologetic. "You can't Henry, I know you want to, but it's just not possible. But don't worry, he's in good place."

"Where did Aurelio go?" Henry asked.

Stumbling over her words a bit, Emma said, "Well, he uhm, h-he got taken to the place that everyone goes when they... er, die."

"Heaven?"

"Something like that. The point is that Aurelio is being taken care of."

Popular culture meant that Henry had gotten a bit well-versed in what supposedly happened after death, so he turned his pouty frown towards her, eyes determined. "Matt told me that's not what happens."

Emma had to hold back her laughter. "And is Matt an expert?"

Henry nodded seriously. "Yeah, he did a project about it last year. He said that Death, the Grim Reaper, dealt with the dead."

This was getting a little bit too close for personal comfort for Emma, so she just dismissively said, "Well if Matt did research, then I'm not one to argue."

But Henry had kept thinking, and then he brightened. "That's it!"

"What's it?"

"I have to talk to the Grim Reaper! I'll ask him and get him to return Aurelio!"

Emma cringed. "Henry, that's not how it works, you can't get Aurelio back!"

"How do you know?" Henry exclaimed, getting angry.

"I just do, and you can't just talk to Death, it's not like there's a phone number that you can call because you're not meant to be able to get in touch!"

"Well I'll just ask Matt! He probably knows how to summon him, and I'm going to get him back, just you see!" And then, without another word, Henry got up and ran to his room, stomping up and letting the door slam closed.

Emma sunk her head into her hands and let out a groan. She was royally fucked.

* * *

When Regina got back home, Emma told her what happened, and after reassuring her girlfriend with a hug and a kiss, Regina went up to talk to Henry, to see if she could diffuse the tension.

Knocking on the door, she heard Henry distractedly mumble, "Come in," before she pushed the door open. Henry was at his computer, probably sending emails back and forth with Matt to get the answers he needed.

"So, you lost Aurelio," Regina began, going to sit by Henry's bed. Henry nodded and she continued, "and you're going to complain to Death about it?"

Henry once more nodded. "He can't take Aurelio away."

It took Regina few seconds to understand who 'he' was in reference to. Of course, in Henry's mind, Death was the Grim Reaper, who was supposedly a man. She tried to tell him that it wasn't good for him to become so determined to get Aurelio back, and that she understood about letting an animal they had formed a bond with go. "There's not a day that goes by and I don't miss Rocinante, but over time you start to heal."

"No, I won't. I don't want to heal, I want him back! Mom, the curse...if it were to break, would magic return?"

Regina was surprised, to say the least, about the turn the conversation took, but she had an inkling she knew where this was going. "I don't know, Henry, I'm not sure what will happen when the curse breaks. But before you ask, even if magic  _did_  return, you as a non-magical user wouldn't be able to see Death if he didn't want you to. Not to mention you'd need someone else to die for him to appear."

Unbeknownst to her, Regina had just given Henry quite a lot of information. Her attempt to dissuade Henry from breaking the curse had actually told him a lot more than his research compiled from internet articles and Matt's findings. Clearly, his mom had met Death.

"I'm actually feeling kinda tired mom," Henry said, yawning. "Wake me up for dinner?"

Regina nodded, standing up to allow her son to head to bed. "If you need me for anything, just call, okay?"

With a nod, Henry gave his mom a quick hug before collapsing onto his pillow.

Making her way downstairs, she found Emma pacing in the study. She barely made her way inside before Emma began her barrage of questions. "So? How did it go?"

Regina's face contorted into an unsure expression. "Not as bad as I expected, but he's still hurting."

Emma made a noise with her tongue. "I wish I could reassure him someway, but there's nothing I can do. Not without telling him the truth and scaring him away from me."

"Well we should think of something, he mentioned the possibility of the curse breaking."

This got Emma to stop and look wide-eyed to Regina. They hadn't really spoken all that much of the fairy tale revelation since they admitted to Henry that it was real two days ago. They had decided to let Henry process everything before talking about it again, and he had probably been doing just that before Aurelio died, and now it was all tangling up into a very dangerous web.

A web that snapped the minute that Regina went to wake Henry, and found him gone.

"Where could he be?" Regina asked, trying not to panic, hugging herself.

Emma put a comforting hand on Regina's shoulder, rubbing gently. Then she made her way to Henry's computer, turning the monitor on. In his haste, he had forgotten to close the browser, and both their eyes widened. "A Greyhound to Boston? Why would he go to Boston?"

Regina sucked a breath. "Emma, he's probably trying to find you."

"Find me? What? I'm right here."

"Not you you; Death. I told him that he would only find Death if there was someone dead. He must've had the same idea as I did when I first tried to find you."

"But Henry wouldn't be able to see me without magic," Emma pointed out.

"Yes I told him that, but you know that he will at least try. He's persistent like that. You mustn't waste any time, he'll probably be arriving soon and it's night out."

Emma nodded solemnly. "Don't worry, I'll bring him back."

Regina nodded, "I know you will."

She brought Regina in for a big hug. "We'll be back before you know it, okay?"

After nodding her agreement, Regina felt Emma's lips on hers, reassuring her that everything would be fine. It had to be, she couldn't bear losing her family. A few seconds later, she was alone, Emma used her magic to transport her to Boston, much easier and quicker than driving.

* * *

Henry tried to pretend that he knew where he was going and what he was doing. But the truth was, he was lost. How was he supposed to find a dead person? He really should have thought this plan through a bit more. The busy city was teeming with lights and sounds, it disoriented the young boy who was used to calm town streets and lazy residents.

Then, he heard sirens, followed by three police cars zooming by. Grinning, he set off at a run. A few minutes later, his lungs were burning, but he was there. A crowd had gathered around the murder scene, as was wont to happen, while police set up a perimeter, getting people to move back.

When an officer approached Henry, he frowned. "What are you doing out so late by yourself, young man?"

Gaping, Henry tried to come up with an answer, but floundered. He was caught.

"There you are, Henry!" Henry whipped around, eyes wide in surprise as he saw his ma running up to them, blonde hair flying. "I'm so sorry officer, my kid just saw the police cars and started running off, you know how they can get."

The police officer nodded knowingly. "Tell me about it. Anyway, this is no place for a young man to be."

"Oh for sure officer, come on Henry," Emma said, holding her hand out to him.

Henry took the hand, and together they walked away from the scene. Once they were a bit away and in a quieter part of the city, she turned to him, crouching so they were at eye level together, and hugged her to him. "We were so worried, Henry."

He gave in, wrapping his arms tightly around his mom's neck. "I'm sorry mom, I just wanted to get Aurelio back."

"I know you miss him, Henry, but you can't just run away to try and find Death," she responded, breaking away to look at him, checking for injuries.

Looking relatively repentant for his brash decision, he apologized. Then he looked at her curiously. "How did you find me?"

"Using my instincts," Emma airily responded, knowing that she was reaching dangerous waters.

"And how did you get here so fast?" Henry continued. "I just got here."

"I have my methods. Now come on." Perhaps she should have thought about her method of transportation a bit more.

But Henry didn't budge. "I don't believe you."

Emma sighed. "Henry, you know I don't lie."

"Do you know Death too? Is that how you got here so quickly?"

"You could say that..."

"Why are you being so vague?" Henry asked, crossing his arms.

"Because there are some things that you're just not ready for," Emma explained.

"But if you know him, you can ask him if he can make an exception!" Henry excitedly concluded.

Emma sighed. "Henry,  _enough_."

"But-"

"No buts. Aurelio is gone. I know you miss him, but he can't be brought back. As much as you want, Death doesn't have the power to bring him back, she only helps those who died to transition."

"How do you know? You didn't even ask!"

Emma countered, "I didn't have to ask, I know without a doubt that Aurelio can't be brought back."

And then everything became clear. His eyes widened and he took half a step back, mouth opening in shock.

"Henry? What is it?" Emma asked, not noticing her slip-up.

"You're Death," he breathed. "You called Death a her, and you knew mom in the Enchanted Forest even though you're not from there; you said you had a dark background. That's how you know everything about this."

Emma put her hands up placatingly. "Henry-"

"Is it true?" Henry insisted.

"Yes, but please don't freak out."

"Why would I freak out?"

Emma let out a bitter laugh. "Henry, you just found out one of your mothers was the Evil Queen a few days ago, and now you know your other mother is Death. Not exactly a winning combination."

Okay, Henry had to admit it was a bit surreal, and overwhelming.

"Now come on, let's go home. I promise that you won't come to any harm," Emma reassured him, holding her arms out to him.

He accepted the embrace, and Emma looked around her to see if anyone was nearby. Once the coast was clear, she teleported them away and back home.

Regina gasped, getting up from the couch and enveloping both of them in a hug. "I was so worried Henry," she murmured. She hazarded a guess that Henry now knew about Emma's real identity, and she kissed her girlfriend softly, trying to reassure her.

After they broke apart, the three of them sat down, and told him the entire truth. Henry listened raptly as they told him of the first time they met, subsequent visits and keeping each other company. They spoke of their falling out and eventually Regina tracking Emma down on this world.

"Great minds think alike," Regina winked at Henry, who beamed at his mother.

"So, you two are retired?" Henry asked.

Regina made a so-so gesture. "There's not a lot of work here for an Evil Queen, so yes, I did retire the persona."

"But you still hate Ms. Blanchard?"

"Not as much as I did. 28 years plus getting a family of my own somewhat dampens the need to exact revenge. And since your mother has become friends with her, I can't exactly off her, now can I?"

Henry beamed at her, then turned to his other mom. "Ma?"

Emma took a deep breath and smiled. "Well, as you can guess, I don't work in HR for a nameless company. When I go on trips, it's for Death-related matters."

To say Henry was fascinated would be an understatement. "I have the coolest parents ever!"

They chuckled, glad that Henry was taking it in stride. "So you're okay with this?"

"Yeah. It'll take a while getting used to it, but we're family," Henry simply explained, before launching himself between them, letting their arms cocoon him. "I love you guys."

"We love you too Henry," Emma softly said, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

A wave of light pulsed out from them at alarming speeds. A few cars outside had their alarms triggered, but they had only eyes for each other. Henry was the first to speak. "Did we just-"

Emma turned panicked eyes to Regina. "We broke the curse, didn't we?"

Regina nodded slowly, shocked.

"I'm super sorry Regina, I didn't know-" Emma began, before being swiftly cut off by a kiss from Regina.

"It's alright, it was bound to happen. Now we just have to figure out how to survive this."

"Survive what?" Henry asked.

"The town," Regina simply responded. Emma didn't need clarification, she knew just what exactly her girlfriend was expecting to happen.

And sure enough, it didn't even take half an hour for the town to clamour their way into Regina's front yard. Henry was instructed to hide in his room, while Emma and Regina went outside, the first rays of light creeping up.

Regina had at first insisted that she would deal with this by herself, but Emma would not take no as an answer, cutting off all arguments with a swift kiss. "I love you, and I'll protect you tooth and nail, so if you think for a second that I'll leave you alone with them, you're sorely mistaken."

To say Regina had been speechless was an understatement, so she merely nodded. Her reverie was broken as they came outside and the crowd got wilder.

"Off with the Queen!" one voice yelled.

Emma zeroed in on Dr. Whale, letting out a growl. "Silence!"

They immediately shut up, surprised a bit at their Deputy's loud command. She saw Mary Margaret, David, Ruby, Granny, Graham, Mother Superior, and Archie at the front of the mob. "Emma, you can't honestly be supporting-"

"My girlfriend? Yeah I'm supporting her," Emma defiantly said, standing a little ways in front of Regina as a a shield.

"But Emma she's the Evil Queen!" Ruby started. "She cursed all of us!"

The crowd began to get rowdy again, agreeing with Ruby's assessment.

Shaking her head, Emma held her hand up, and everyone stopped. Regina was fascinated with how Emma managed to take control of the situation. "I get it, you all feel robbed and wish you hadn't just woken up after 28 years, feeling absolutely discombobulated at where you found yourselves. But look around you. Look at all the improvements to your lives you've gotten by living in this world. Notice all that Regina has given you."

Everyone was quietly introspecting Emma's words. So, feeling emboldened, Regina spoke up. "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness. I have done a lot of unspeakable things in the past, and I do hope one day you'll forgive me. But like Emma said, look around you. This world is breathtaking, and in no way will I apologize for this. It has given me a family, and everything I could've hoped for, and I hope it has or will do the same for you."

"So while you get your comfy life playing house, we are supposed to keep suffering, is that it?!" Whale spat out.

"We didn't suffer!" Mary Margaret countered, rounding off on the good doctor.

"Mary Margaret's right!" David said, turning to the crowd as he made his way closer to the two women. "As are Emma and Regina. The conditions that led us here aren't ideal, but we can make the best of it. It definitely beats having outhouses and frigid winters without heating and hoping the fire didn't die out. Who's with me?"

The town shouted their agreement, siding with the royal duo.

"You are all insane! Absolutely insane. Have fun sucking up to the royal bitch and her lackey," Whale huffed, walking away, as did a few others, clearly in disagreement of the Charmings' support.

Granny rolled her eyes at Whale's ridiculous antics and said, "Alright folks, free breakfast is on me, so come and get it!"

The rest of the town left, following Granny. The only ones who were left were the Charmings, and the fairy nun. The latter said, "Well, I'd say that was a crisis adverted."

Emma nodded. "Yeah, but I'm keeping an eye on Whale, he seems like a loose screw."

"Indeed," David agreed.

Mary Margaret bit her lip for a moment before she asked, "Emma, I don't recognize you from the Enchanted Forest, who were you in the old lands?"

"Oh, I'm not from there, actually..." Emma mumbled.

"But I can vouch for her," Regina piped up after a moment. She had been quiet up until then, unsure of what to say in front of the Charmings, afraid she would say something wrong.

"As can I," Mother Superior added. She was also one of the few people who also knew who Emma truly was, and they had formed a fairly good camaraderie in the centuries they had known each other.

The Charmings were satisfied with the answer, and they left to go join the town for breakfast, Mother Superior tagging along. Emma and Regina had declined in joining, deciding that they would enjoy their time with Henry and each other.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," Emma said as she took a hold of Regina's hand and they walked inside.

Regina chuckled and nodded. "Thankfully. But I have a feeling this is only the beginning."

* * *

About a week later, Graham was sitting in his office, working the graveyard shift by finishing on some reports, when he heard heels making their way to him. He looked up and saw an older lady with brown hair flecked with grey, and a younger woman with auburn hair enter his office.

"Good evening ladies, anything I can do to help?" Graham asked with a tinge of sleep in his voice.

"Why certainly," the brunette responded. "You can tell us all you can about this quaint little town..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was chapter 3!
> 
> The curse is broken, and Graham is in trouble! Yikes! Pretty sure it's obvious as to who the newcomers are, but take your guesses!
> 
> I'd love to know your thoughts on this chapter, and whether you want to see this continued. Meanwhile, I'll be updating A Thief in the Night followed by drabbles, and then Equals!


	4. Can

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo guess who is back with more!
> 
> So, where we last left off, Henry now knows, the curse has been broken, and two mysterious ladies [good guesses by everyone!] have accosted Graham at the station.
> 
> Whatever could happen next?
> 
> Let's see!

Emma really didn't want to go into the diner. "Do we have to go?"

Regina sighed and turned back to face her girlfriend, seeing her pout. "We don't. But I'd rather not have people think I'm conspiring to do them all off."

"And how does going to the diner for breakfast help quell those rumours?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms.

"Because they'll see us together and civilized, out and about the town, meaning we're not hiding in some dark corner of our home plotting something nefarious," Regina explained with an air of satisfaction.

Grimacing, Emma had to disagree. "Trust me, that's the number one excuse people use. We'll probably look more guilty pretending everything's fine and dandy."

Regina huffed and kept walking, knowing Emma would begrudgingly follow along. She went into the diner without a word, and kept the silence until they were both sitting in a booth by the back. "You just want to avoid coming here."

"Is that a crime?" Emma countered. "Besides, every single time I'm out people start asking me who I was in 'the old lands'."

With another huff, Regina rolled her eyes. Emma had added the finger quotes and said the last words in a mocking tone, so it was really hard to take her serious. "Just make something up."

Emma's mouth opened and closed a few times. "Can't lie, remember?" she hissed, just as Ruby approached them.

"Hey you two, regular orders or d'you want to change it up a bit?" Ruby greeted, flashing big smiles at them.

They both agreed on their regulars, and when Ruby left, Regina continued, "You can bend the truth though. It was how you got Henry to believe you did out-of-town transitioning for those recently unemployed."

"That was mostly you though, I just smiled and nodded," Emma mumbled. "Plus I don't like lying in general."

Ruby came by to quickly deposit their coffees, and Regina took a sip of hers before she asked, "Why not tell them the truth?"

Emma averted her eyes. "You know what happens when I do that."

Although Regina could understand where Emma was coming from, she wanted her to feel comfortable in Storybrooke. "Emma, that was another time, with another group of people. Look at all the people you're surrounded with now. Your coffee is being served by the little Red Riding Hood-"

"Who's not so little," Emma snickered despite herself.

"-And simultaneously the big bad wolf. I'm just telling you that maybe, just maybe, you shouldn't let your fear of rejection get to you...you might find that people here are more accepting you for who you are."

Emma shook her head decisively. "Nope. Tried that and I'm not going to try more."

Just then, Ruby returned with their breakfast freshly prepared, but rather than leaving, she turned to Emma and said, "You know, I'm sure you're probably getting this all the time, but who were you? In the Enchanted Forest you know. I'm sorry if it seems too personal but I think everyone her is pretty curious so it's hard to not ask."

Giving Regina a brief pointed look to prove her point, Emma said, "It's a long story Ruby-"

"Oh nonsense," Regina scoffed. "It's simple, she was the Captain of my guard."

Emma did a double take, but thankfully Ruby was too busy processing that to see Emma.

"I thought that was Graham?" Ruby slowly said after a few moments pondering.

"He's the Huntsman," Regina corrected without missing a beat, adding a saccharine smile to cement the effect.

Just as Emma was about to nod and subtly change the topic, she felt a very familiar pull. She quickly scrambled up and started to fish for her wallet so she could pay. "I-I have to go."

Ruby frowned. "You haven't eaten anything though."

Emma quickly glanced between Ruby and Regina, the latter looking very puzzled at Emma's sudden change in behaviour.

"Yeah it's work...something came up," Emma mumbled, trying to find the bills she needed to cover breakfast. "I'm really sorry."

"I'll come with you," Regina added, unsure of what was going on but still feeling like she should accompany the blonde.

Ruby meanwhile was left blinking holding up a wad of bills and looking positively puzzled. Something was going on, and she'd be damned if she wouldn't investigate. She would follow...quietly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Regina walked hurriedly alongside Emma, glancing every now and then to see if her girlfriend would explain why she suddenly rushed out, and why she was being so secretive. When no answer came forth by the time they were nearly at the station, Regina finally demanded, "What's going on Emma?"

Emma stopped and whipped around to face Regina, as if she had only realized that the other woman was there. Regina could see Emma's eyes were unfocused and darting around way too much.

"Emma?" Regina repeated, worried a bit.

Starting to walk again, Emma shook her head and said, "I'll explain when we get to the station."

So Regina reluctantly dropped her question until the door had closed behind them. Then, she reached out for Emma's arm, making her pause. "We're in the station Emma. Please, talk to me, you're worrying me. What's wrong?"

"I...I think- no, I know, Graham is dead."

It didn't register at first. "What?"

"Graham-" Emma didn't get to finish because Regina just walked past her and went towards the bullpen. There, collapsed in a heap in the middle of the floor, was Graham. Considering who her girlfriend was, Regina didn't even need to check for a pulse to know what happened.

"How...why?" Regina breathed, blinking. After all these years, it had been a while since she had seen someone dead in front of her, and she had to admit, she was a bit disconcerted at seeing Graham lifeless on the floor.

Emma walked up and crouched in front of Graham, looking at him closely. "I was going to find out how now..." She turned to Regina and straightened, walking up to stand in front of her. "Look, if you'd rather not be here-"

"Nonsense," Regina said resolutely, shaking her head. "I want to know what happened."

With a nod, Emma turned back to Graham, and began to wave her hand over his body, concentrating.

* * *

Ruby had been keeping her distance as she followed Regina and Emma. Since her sensitive nose would pick up the couple's scent from far away, there was no need to tail them closely, and the distance would therefore make it less likely for her to get caught.

"Ruby? What are you doing?" So much for not getting caught.

Whipping around, Ruby saw Mary Margaret standing there looking at her strangely. Then again, she was crouching behind a car, so it was a well-founded question. "Nothing much, just things."

Mary Margaret's frown deepened. "Apart from not believing you, that's my car you're crouching behind...want to try again?"

So Ruby explained what had happened at the diner. "By the way, do you remember who was Regina's Captain of the guard?"

"Wasn't it Graham?" Mary Margaret asked with a deep frown.

"She says he's just her Huntsman. Emma was supposedly the Captain."

"Weird. The day the curse broke, Emma said she wasn't from the Enchanted Forest. And besides, I'm sure I'd have seen Emma if she had been in the Enchanted Forest. Not to mention, why would Blue vouch for her if she had been Regina's Captain?"

Nothing added up, and Ruby needed answers. "That's why I'm tailing them. Want to join?"

"I was heading to work, but I suppose I still have a while before second period starts and I have to be at the school, so let's go."

* * *

"Emma? Regina?" Graham's form materialized, looking confused. "What's going on? I feel-"

"Weird, yes," Emma interrupted, trying her best to not panic her coworker. "I know this is strange, but please bear with me okay?"

Graham was about to nod when he looked down and saw his own body beneath him. "What in the world?!" he exclaimed, jumping back.

"Please don't panic!" Emma said, hands out placatingly as she stepped closer.

"I generally find saying that never helps," Regina interjected.

Emma gave Regina a quick accusatory glare before she turned back to Graham, who seemed to slowly be coming to the realization of what had happened.

"I'm dead aren't I? I thought...I figured that maybe it was a dream, a really bad dream but-" Graham's voice died out as he accepted his fate.

"I'm sorry Graham, I wish it wasn't the case, but you are no longer part of the living world," Emma confirmed with a nod. "The thing is that I need your help figuring out who did this; did you see your killers?"

Rather than answer, Graham frowned. "Wait. How did you guys get here so fast then? And how am I still talking here? I thought ghosts weren't real-"

Once again he was interrupted as Emma said, "We don't have a lot of time, you're supposed to be heading into transition. To make long story short, I'm Death."

Graham merely nodded at the news. Regina supposed that being dead took a lot of the surprise and shock from the news. "I guess it was good I stayed on your good side then."

"I don't control that really," Emma said, pointing to his body. "Otherwise believe me, you wouldn't be in this position. Now, your killers, who were they?"

"Don't you know that?" Regina asked Emma.

Emma shook her head. "I know that he was murdered, but not by whom or how. Trust me, if I did, I would've signed up as a cop along time ago, and helped put a lot of murderers away."

Graham nodded, going to answer Emma's earlier question. "Yeah, there were these two women. One of them was an older lady of about 60, brown hair and a really commanding presence, she really scared the living shit out of me. The other woman was a redhead, she was much younger, in her 30s maybe; she's mute, but her eyes just scream murder."

Emma frowned. "Doesn't sound like anyone in town that I know of."

"No, they weren't here during the curse, I would've remembered them," Graham countered.

Regina piped up, her voice a bit shaky. "Graham, what happened? How did you die?"

With a frown, Graham crossed his arms and started to think. "It's a bit fuzzy..."

"That happens after you die," Emma said. "Just try to remember what happened yesterday evening, that was the last time I saw you."

"Right. The two ladies showed up during the night, and they wanted to know everything about the town. I wasn't sure what they wanted to know so I just started rambling things off. Apparently my answer wasn't satisfactory, because the lady just removed my heart and then asked me specific questions, forcing me to answer them. She asked about you a lot Regina." At the answer, Regina gave a slow nod, as if she had been expecting that answer. Emma had the feeling her girlfriend knew who these women were, but before she could ask more, Graham continued, "And about Mary Margaret too - well Snow, she didn't know her cursed name. When she had all the information she wanted, she killed me. Just crushed my heart."

Emma nodded; she heard Regina take a sharp breath beside her, but she had to wrap things up here first. "Unfortunately, I can't keep you here longer. I promise someone will help you once you transition, okay? I might come by and visit soon. I'm really sorry that this happened, we will catch whoever did this."

Graham nodded. "Thank you."

Once he was gone, Emma sighed and teleported Graham's body from the station floor.

"Where-" Regina began to ask.

"The convent. Blue will know what to do," Emma said. She took a step forward to gently rub Regina's arms. "Now, who were those women?"

Regina bit her lip. "I know one of them for sure. The older woman. I think that was my mother."

They heard a gasp, coming from beyond the bullpen.

"Is someone else here?" Regina called out tersely, approaching the hallway with Emma behind her.

They found Ruby and Mary Margaret crouching around the corner, both wearing expressions of shock.

"What are you guys doing here?" Emma figured she should act like nothing was wrong, maybe they hadn't seen much, or they'd just come in.

No such luck. It was a babble of questions and explanations.

"Thing was, we were following you..."

"Well Ruby was, I just joined in after she hid out behind my car."

"Technicalities aside, what the hell happened here? Graham is dead?!"

"We saw his body Ruby, not a lot of mystery there. But what I want to know is what do you meant by saying you're Death?"

"Yeah I want to know that too! Was that why his- his ghost or whatever was over there?"

"But wait, Regina, is Cora back? If so we need to-"

"ENOUGH!" Emma roared, quieting everyone and even startling Regina a bit. "I get it, you guys saw everything and you have a lot of questions. So let's just sit down and I promise I'll explain everything."

With everyone in agreement, Emma grabbed three chairs and crowded them around the desk closest to the hallway. "Everyone sit."

They did - Regina pushed her chair a bit further away from the curious duo - and Emma clambered on top of the desk, crossing her legs. And so she explained her actual identity, how she came to meet Regina, leaving out a few more private details of course, and how they all got here. When it came to Graham's death, there were more questions, but Emma answered them all diligently. She couldn't lie, not to mention it wouldn't be fair on her friends of almost ten years. She just hoped they wouldn't run away once she was done.

"So Regina, did you see Cora in town lately?" Mary Margaret asked at one point. She had long forsaken heading to work. They would just find a substitute.

Regina shook her head and spoke for the first time since she had seen Ruby and Mary Margaret, "No. But Graham's description sounds spot-on. The only thing I don't understand is her having magic. There's no magic in this world."

"Emma has magic though," Ruby pointed out, recalling the removal of Graham's body from the floor.

"I'm an exception," Emma explained, shrugging. "Part of the whole mystical being and all that jazz. Cora probably has a reserve of magic that she's tapping into."

Regina looked worried. "That's bound to end soon; she won't ration, she's power hungry like no one else, and if that happens, she'll try to bring back magic to which case, we're screwed."

"So how do we stop her?" Ruby asked.

"Well, she doesn't know that we know she's here. Nor is she aware of Emma's identity," Regina explained. "So we have an edge. We just have to find her before she brings magic back, and take her down."

"What about the redhead?" was Mary Margaret's question.

"I have no idea, but if she's with my mother and looks as deranged as Graham described, she's probably not an ally of ours."

Emma agreed. "Okay, so we need a plan. First, we have to keep the circle small. If people find out about Cora, they might either alert her, or panic, neither of which would be what we want."

They agreed they would only tell Blue, who would help track Cora down, and help hinder any chances of magic being brought back.

"Oh, and David, I can't keep anything from him," Mary Margaret added with a sheepish smile.

Begrudgingly, they agreed.

"What about Gold?" Regina asked. "I think my mother is more likely to reach out to him for help."

Emma made a face. "Then we better not give him any ideas by telling him."

Regina tilted her head in confusion. "I thought you two were close?"

"Ehh, about as much trust as you can give a guy like him. Basically, I know he can't do anything to me, but that doesn't mean he's no less power-hungry with his own agenda and willing to screw anyone over if it'll benefit him."

"So no to Gold."

"Definitely not." They decided to wrap things up there, keeping an eye out for the evil pair, while also not raising panic by keeping this quiet.

"I'm hoping you can manage that this time, Ms. Blanchard?" Regina asked, voice heavy with sarcasm as they all stood up.

Mary Margaret just looked bashful, and tried to push Ruby closer to the exit.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could speak to you two for a bit," Emma requested, pointing to Ruby and Mary Margaret.

They agreed and together, the trio walked to the hallway, where Emma wrung her hands for a bit, deciding how to word her question. "I guess there's no easy way to say this but...what do you guys think of me being Death?"

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"Well, generally, when people are faced with Death, they freak out, beg for mercy, and other things. I'm really not used to this indifference and nonchalant reaction."

Mary Margaret hummed. "Well, when you consider we're a bunch of fairy tale characters, this tends to not be such a big deal. I suppose if you looked more like the Grim Reaper, a creepy looking skeleton with burning embers as eyes, clad in a black cloak and appearing in the middle of the night floating around, carrying a scythe with one of those scary inhumane voices, then that would be more scary. But this? You're harmless."

"That's oddly specific Mary Margaret," Emma said, voice thick. "Where- where did you get such a mental image?"

"When my mom was dying, I dabbled in a lot of magic, trying to help her, but nothing worked. When she died, maybe I was high on so much magic that I could've sworn I saw that there, but that's impossible, you clearly don't look anything like that."

"Right," Emma responded tersely. Then she jokingly added, "A scythe would be way too heavy to lug around."

Suddenly, the doors to the station slammed open, and a very irate Blue came bounding inside, pointing an accusing finger at Emma. "You! I have a bone to pick with you!"

Regina had appeared at hearing the commotion. "What's going on?"

"This is a matter between me and Emma," Blue sniffed, eyeing the brunettes as if expecting them to get the message.

Emma crossed her arms. "Everyone here knows about me, so just talk."

Blue seemed surprised that Ruby and Mary Margaret were privy to Emma's true identity. "Very well. What the hell kind of game was that? Dropping off Graham's body in my office?!"

If anyone was surprised at Blue's more colourful language, they didn't say it. Emma shrugged. "It was the only place I could think of. I can't exactly drop it off at the altar or something, people might see."

"But that's just the problem! They did see it!" Blue fumed, and then took a deep breath, continuing in a much more calmer tone. "I was working in my office, as you do, and certainly not expecting the Sheriff to appear out of nowhere and _plop_ right in the middle of my office, so I naturally screamed. Suffice to say the entire convent barged in at my scream and saw Graham's lifeless body had just materialized. So now all the nuns are terrified that the devil is real and they're preparing to go out around town and help everyone to find salvation and protect themselves."

Emma stood slack-jawed, completely speechless.

Ruby snickered. "Wow. Talk about over-reacting much."

Everyone glared at Ruby, who quickly sobered and uttered an apology.

Mary Margaret asked, "But Blue, the nuns know of magic, they know how it works, why are they so afraid?"

"There's no magic in this town, remember?" Regina chimed in.

Blue nodded. "Precisely. After 28 years in the convent, they are a bit confused, and they are used to their new ways. Everyone is reacting to this as something morbid and unnatural, I have no way to stop it."

"And it gets worse," Emma added, proceeding to explain what had happened.

If Blue looked sick to her stomach when she came in, it was no comparison to now. "Well the panic will be hard to escape. I suppose we need to act like this was an isolated incident and try to calm everyone down. We can pin the blame on Cora for Graham's body materializing in my office - though we'll refer to her as persons unknown in order to maintain the element of surprise - and send out a bulletin of sorts to hammer it down as the official story."

"And plan a funeral for Graham," Mary Margaret piped up.

They got to work, and that evening, Regina recorded a message for the town of Storybrooke in order to convey her message.

"Good evening, people of Storybrooke. I know that this past week, everyone has been trying to familiarize themselves with our new situation, but today, something happened which shattered the peace we had managed to achieve." Regina sighed and took a deep breath before continuing. "Our beloved and long-standing Sheriff, Graham Humbert, was murdered earlier today, and that someone was careless and heartless enough to dump his body in Mother Superior's office. Everyone here at Town Hall is deeply saddened by his loss, and we will do everything we can to catch whoever did this. That is why Deputy Emma Swan has been promoted to Sheriff, and I am hopeful she will manage to catch those responsible.

"In other news, we will be preparing a funeral to honour and celebrate Graham's life. As I know his presence touched all of Storybrooke's citizens, everyone is invited to Saturday's event. Thank you."

* * *

It was Saturday afternoon, and everyone was gathered inside Granny's diner, the official gathering venue after the funeral. Drinks were flowing and conversation was easy despite the funeral clothing everyone was wearing.

Emma was keeping to herself, and Mary Margaret approached her. "You okay?"

"Not really my element," Emma mumbled, crossing her arms a bit closer to herself, not making eye-contact with her friend.

Mary Margaret seemed confused and frowned.

Lowering her voice, Emma clarified, "I'm not really used to attending the funerals for those who've passed. Plus I knew Graham, I worked with him, and now the station's so empty these past few days."

"Speaking of," Mary Margaret started, twiddling her drink in her hands as she went to stand beside Emma leaning against the wall. "Would you like an extra pair of hands?"

Emma turned to look at Mary Margaret with surprise. "You want to be a Deputy?"

Mary Margaret nodded. "Yep. teaching just...doesn't seem satisfying anymore, and I gained a lot of skills while Regina had me on the run, so I figure I could help you."

"I could use the help," Emma said, mulling over the idea.

Ruby then appeared, smile on her face as she asked, "What are you two up to?"

"I believe I was just about to hire Mary Margaret as my newest deputy," Emma responded with a smile.

Before anyone could say anything else, the doors slammed open, and two women stepped inside.

Emma recognized Cora Mills, but the other one was a mystery; her eyes looked scarily accurate to Graham's description, she was clearly not to be messed with.

"A party! And no one thought to invite us, how sad," Cora started with a flourish, looking around the room with a big fake smile.

Henry, who had been with David at the time, was subtly and quickly sent to the back of the room, near where Emma was standing. Teeth gritted together, Regina advanced towards the newcomers. "Mother! I wasn't aware you'd be here, and even if I did, I wouldn't ever invite you."

Cora let out a tittering laugh. "Oh my, and why wouldn't I be invited? I was under the impression this was a land of second chances, is it not? Isn't your own mother included?"

Stepping up to be beside her girlfriend, Emma uttered, "Not when you murder our Sheriff."

Gasps were heard from all around the room. Cora quirked her lips and turned to Emma, "And you must be the enigmatic Emma Swan; the woman currently dating my daughter yes? I suppose my lesson of love being a weakness didn't stick with you quite that well last time Regina."

Clearly Graham had given Cora a gamut of information, and she was clearly hoping to use this to her advantage. Regina was silent, her mother's words easily bringing Daniel's death back, and Emma stepped up.

"That's true, but I get the feeling you're not here to meet-and-greet. What do you want?" Emma said, enunciating every word.

Cora clasped her hands in front of her and responded, "Well I'm here to take over this town. Your poor ex-Sheriff gave me a summary of this town and I must say my daughter has done a deplorable job."

"Excuse me?" Regina scoffed, gathering her wits back again. "Deplorable? No, you do not get to barge in here and pretend like you've got any idea of what's going on. This is my town, I am its leader, and you are not going to take this away from me, not even my girlfriend."

Cora just blinked, not deterred at all. "I believe the only people who have power to take this from you is the people. And I intend to do just that, including your girlfriend."

"Can't do that if you're in jail for murder and for threatening the Sheriff," Emma called out, smiling smugly. "Murderers aren't mayors."

"And what do you call my daughter dear?" Cora readily fired back.

Emma didn't miss a beat as she said, "Someone who is getting a second chance. She hasn't murdered while living in Storybrooke, but you have. Ergo, you're disqualified. Now, if you'd like to put your hands behind your back, we'd like to question you on Graham's murder, as well as your accomplice here for accessory."

When Emma pulled out a pair of cuffs, Cora let out a shrill laugh. "Oh you were actually being serious? Then my answer is no."

Before anyone could react, she had sent Emma flying back, landing right on the jukebox.

"Emma!" various voices called out. She groaned and waved her hand lazily. She was disoriented but nothing she hadn't handled before.

"How dare you!" Regina was yelling.

"How dare I? In a land without magic, having it is power. That makes me the most powerful person in this town. Be thankful I didn't rip out that girl's heart right here and teach you a lesson now."

While Cora continued, she had Mary Margaret help her up. Henry hovered, unsure how to assist, but still wanted to be around Emma. They walked to the hallway connecting the diner and the inn, where Emma dropped the fake limp she had adopted in order to sell her injury.

"Okay, time to change costumes," Emma said, pointing to the door to go out.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Mary Margaret asked.

Emma bit her lip and then took a deep breath before saying, "I have an idea on how to get Cora to back down, but I sorta need to change in order to do that. Just stick around and I'll be back when I'm done." Turning to Henry, she kneeled a bit and looked him right in the eyes as she said, "And you kid, are to stay here, right on that bench. Please don't move, and don't try to sneak back into the diner okay? It's dangerous."

Henry nodded. "No problem ma, I'll be fine."

With a final smile and a quick hug, Emma walked outside.

The street was deserted, and she quickly called up her magic to dress her up in her familiar long black cloak and leather gloves.

"There you are!"

Emma whipped around to find Gold and Neal turning the corner, both looking quite confused.

"What's going on?" Neal asked.

And so she explained about Cora being in the diner.

"And she has magic you say?" Gold asked, and Emma could just see the wheels turning on his head.

"Don't you dare, Gold," she threatened.

Gold shrugged his shoulders. "I will dare. I need to ensure my place in this town should your plan fail, and that involves bringing magic back."

"Typical, always meddling in things," Emma scoffed, and Neal agreed.

"Unlike you, Emma, I have certain priorities in life. And while you've been living a cozy life with your necessities guaranteed, I will not allow myself to become a pawn in Cora's game. So I will do what is necessary, is that clear?"

With a sigh, she conceded. Once Gold had left, Emma turned to Neal. "I need a favour. Henry is inside, and I don't want him to even catch a glimpse of what I'm about to do in the diner; can you keep an eye on him and stay with him until I get back?"

"No problem, you can count on me," he said with a smile and started walking towards the inn. Pulling her hood up, Emma made her way to the diner. On a whim, she summoned a scythe, just for show.

* * *

Regina was on the verge of a getting a migraine just listening to her mother, when the door burst open yet again, and a staff pounded on the linoleum floor. It was Emma, dressed as Death, and she breathed a little easier.

Cora didn't understand who it was at first, and just let out a chuckle. "Is this the best you can do Regina? This is the salvation of the town? Someone dressed all menacingly?"

In a blood-curdling voice that Regina had heard once before, Emma responded, "I'm much more than just a costume. And I'm certainly no one's salvation."

That seemed to stop Cora cold. Her voice was more clipped as she demanded, "Who are you?!"

"You mean you haven't figured it out yet? I am Death." Whispers broke out around the diner around this revelation, but Emma paid them no attention. She pointed the scythe at Cora. "And you'd do well to stop these antics of yours. It doesn't suit you to pretend to be more than what you are."

Now Cora let out a delirious laugh at that, and Regina could just tell her mother wasn't now as confident as she was letting on. "That's rich of you to say. You're just a parlour trick meant to intimidate me. You have no powers."

"Oh really?" Emma conjured a fireball in her free hand, letting the flames dance. "I dare say I'm much more than just a parlour trick."

When Cora said nothing, Emma began to walk around the place. "Oh yes, I'm the real deal. Perhaps, if you really want me to show you irrefutable proof, I can call up on the departed souls you are responsible for having killed, I'm sure they'd love to talk."

She made her way around the mute woman, who refused to make eye contact, and finally she stood near Regina, giving her a subtle and hopefully reassuring look.

The quick relieved smile and crinkling of Regina's eyes was all she needed to continue, "Have I already made you speechless?"

Letting out a furious growl, Cora paced, walking past Emma and closer to the center of the room. "Hardly dear. I'm just wondering what my daughter did to get Death as her lackey."

"I'm no one's lackey. I wasn't summoned, but I'm sure you know what happens when I appear," Emma said, stomping the scythe onto the floor with such a force that it startled everyone. It also planted the staff firmly on the ground, allowing her to continue advancing towards Cora without having to lug it around. "Now look me in the eye."

And Cora looked into the pair of ember red eyes seen beneath the hood, and Emma channeled as much hate as she could muster against the woman who had made her girlfriend's life so miserable. She saw Cora's eyes grow wide as her body went stiff, hands shaking as she tried to keep herself composed.

With a panicked scream and a gasp, Cora toppled over, scrambling backwards. "Get away from me!"

Before Emma could move further, the mute woman threw a gust of wind at Emma, only succeeding in lowering her hood. As everyone now saw Emma's skeletal appearance, they all collectively gasped, and Emma fought to not let it get to her.

She was doing an act really, and let out a mirthless laugh. "Looks like your associate has more galls than you."

Cora shakily stood up, lip quivering as she tried to make eye contact with Emma, falling short and settling for her forehead. "You don't intimidate me."

"I beg to differ," Emma said, stepping forward slowly. "I think you are scared shitless and-"

"Enough," Regina's shaky voice broke Emma out of her reverie, and she turned around to see her girlfriend with her hands out placatingly. "I believe my mother is going to surrender herself, right?"

"I would never! I-" Emma whipped back around to look at Cora and the latter gasped before she said, "Yes! Yes I'll surrender myself."

Emma turned back to Regina, and saw Regina's lips quirk into a minuscule thankful smile before she nodded and stoically said, "Thank you for your help."

Pulling her hood back up, Emma grabbed the scythe and muttered a curt "You're welcome," before disappearing in a cloud of white smoke.

She reappeared in the inn's foyer, back in her clothes and looking much more human. Neal was keeping Henry occupied with a game of chess, and Emma was about to go back to the diner when Mary Margaret reappeared, looking haggard.

"What the hell was that?" she demanded.

Emma didn't answer at first, deciding to walk past her and down the hallways connecting the two places. She adopted a limp when she was near the corner, and she turned back and held her arm out. "We can talk about this later, right now, help me out."

Mary Margaret looked like she was going to decline, but relented and supported Emma as they made their way back.

Looking at the patrons of the diner, Emma realized she might have oversold her act. Everyone looked much like Mary Margaret did, pale and scared. A few had left in a panic clearly, leaving the main door broken.

Cora and her companion both stood where Emma had left them, catatonic, not paying any attention to their surroundings.

Regina immediately spotted her and she breathed Emma's name before she bounded up towards them and hugged Emma tightly. Mary Margaret used that moment to extricate herself from Emma's side so David could hug his wife, allowing Emma to hold Regina with both arms.

"I'm okay," she whispered, rubbing a hand down Regina's back soothingly.

"I know," Regina responded just as quietly. "I was so worried she'd do something or that she'd figure it out."

They broke the hug to share a quick kiss before Regina added, "Don't let anyone's reactions get to you, okay? This was necessary."

Emma nodded, and looked back to the stunned pair. "What do we do with them? I'm not above kicking them over the town line."

"Aren't we going to arrest them?" Mary Margaret piped up, David's arm protectively around his wife's shoulders.

"Well I think Cora's gone a bit postal, so jail might not work." Emma said. "The other one..."

"Cora can stay in the asylum beneath the hospital. And mother called her associate Zelena, it's a peculiar name," Regina frowned.

"Well her, Zelena, might be good for jail time, depending how much this affected her psychically."

Giving her a meaningful look, Mary Margaret countered with a hiss, "If we're going by that, then we all need to be locked up!"

David nodded. "That was pretty intense."

Emma sighed. "I'll pitch in to pay for everyone to get a session with Archie; now I should probably go and arrest them. Want to help Mary Margaret?"

After a quick look to David, Mary Margaret agreed, grabbing Emma's proffered set of handcuffs. Emma was going to handle Cora while Mary Margaret handled Zelena, but when Emma limped towards the older woman, her eyes widened and she collapsed into the ground, curling up into a ball and whimpering.

"Great," Emma muttered. She turned to her new deputy. "Want to switch?"

Mary Margaret shrugged and they switched. Emma cuffed Zelena easily, while David and Regina helped Cora right herself so she could be cuffed.

Footsteps were heard by the door and everyone looked up to see Gold standing there, one hand poised on his cane, the other one holding a pair of short leather vambraces. "I believe you'll need these," he said without greeting, throwing one at both Emma and Mary Margaret respectively.

He turned around and left again, leaving Emma with a sense of dread. Nonetheless, she fitted the leather vambrace on one of Zelena's wrist. As she approached the trio with Cora, she turned to Regina, who looked puzzled. "What was that about?"

Before Emma could respond, a dark purple cloud billowed in. Through the opaque clouds, Emma felt around and took a hold of Regina's hand.

Once the smoke cleared, everyone was looking around to see what had changed. Nothing at first glance.

Regina made a familiar gesture, lighting up a fireball in her hand. More gasps were heard as Regina breathed, "Magic is back."

"Moms!" Henry came bounding back with Neal at his heels. The young boy crashed between both women and hugged them closely.

Both women silently conversed with just a look, and in agreement, Emma ruffled Henry's hair and said, "Hey kid, I'm going to take care of this and then I'll meet you and mom at home okay?"

Henry hummed and nodded, so Regina quickly did an actual parlour trick to seemingly fix Emma's ankle. Once that was done, Emma beckoned Mary Margaret to follow her. She did, with David trailing behind them.

"I have the cruiser parked here, so we can just stuff them in the back and we can go process them," Emma said, opening the door with one hand, helping Zelena into the back. Cora also went along willingly, clearly too shocked to fight back.

Once she shut the door, Emma added, "Maybe we can also get you started on the forms to make you officially my deputy ?"

Mary Margaret bit her lip and looked to the ground as she said, "Actually, I don't think that's such a good idea anymore."

Emma had the sinking feeling it wasn't because of Cora. But she still asked, "Why?"

"Because Emma. It just dawned on me who you really are," Mary Margaret said, looking at her resolutely. "You're exactly like the figure that haunted me in my nightmares as a child."

"In my defense, I just got the scythe because you mentioned it. I have never carried it, and I especially wasn't carrying it when I went to collect your mother."

Mary Margaret gasped. "Wait...you really are the one that came and collected my mother?"

With a deep breath, Emma confessed, "Yes I was the one that came for your mother. I'm not sure how much of those magic fumes you inhaled to see me, but I promise I'm not that scary, I was just putting on a show for Cora. Anything less wouldn't scare her. Plus she deserves much worse for what she did to Regina."

"Just because you can do this Emma doesn't mean you should," Mary Margaret let out a huff. "Look, this is a lot to process. I'll...I'll get back to you okay?"

Emma nodded and sighed, deciding at the last minute to add, "Look Mary Margaret, I won't hurt anyone, I promise. That's not who I am."

Mary Margaret nodded and gave Emma a small smile, but said nothing as she left.

Letting her shoulders fall, Emma went to the driver's side and let out a breath. At least she could look forward to a nice evening with her family.

* * *

It was nighttime, Regina had just put Henry to sleep and she headed to her room. Walking out onto the balcony, she saw Emma perched on the railing.

"You know, it's not exactly safe to sit there," Regina started.

Emma smiled. "I think I'd survive."

Switching to a more serious topic, Regina said, "Don't obsess over this Emma, you did what you had to. Granted you might've gone a bit too dramatic, but my mother had to be stopped."

"Yeah. But what happens if Mary Margaret tells?"

"Well I can't guarantee she'll keep her mouth shut, there's historic evidence of that," Regina said with a smile, managing to make Emma quirk her lips too. "But I think she'll come around. Just give her a bit of time. As for the rest of the town, they're a bunch of superstitious idiots, and they don't know it was you. Besides, you have Henry and I, and we love you no matter what."

"You're right," Emma nodded, getting down from her perch and she led them inside to the settee so they could lay back and let the fresh air flow around the room. "I just don't want to lose any of this."

"And you won't," Regina said, looking Emma right in the eyes. "And you want to know why?"

"Why?" Emma asked.

In response, Regina held up a little black box, and pressed the little button to open the clasp. A ring.

"R-Regina," Emma said shakily. "What's going on?"

"You know what this is Emma," Regina answered, eyes pleading. "I love you. And this is how much you mean to me. You needn't answer right away if you don't want to. But just know that nothing would make me change my mind about you."

Emma thought to all the plans Regina had. She wanted more kids, she wanted a happy ending. This was it. Yes or no. Could she actually provide that? She bit her lip and took a deep breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's this chapter!
> 
> Lots of things going on and boy, Emma really lost it with Cora huh? It was a little bit inspired by the show Lucifer, a pretty decent show for those interested.
> 
> But anyway important things are happening! Regina popped the question! What do you think Emma will say? Anyway, we're past the halfway point with this fic! Next up features a much fluffier chapter!
> 
> But before that chapter becomes a reality, I have to update all the other fics first, starting with A Thief in the Night and then Equals!
> 
> Let me know what you thought!


	5. Do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, over a year later and I'm updating.
> 
> I know, I know, why did it take so long? Mainly there was one review in the previous chapter on ff net that really didn't stick well with me so it took me a while to want to return to this.
> 
> Despite the long wait, I hope it's nonetheless enjoyable, and sorry for the delay!

"Yes," Emma said with a shaky nod.

Regina could hardly believe her ears. "'Yes'?" she repeated.

Emma let out a laugh. "Yes, of course I do. You've- You've captured my heart like no one else has Regina. And, and I feel so lucky that you accept and love me for me."

"You sap," Regina laughed. "I'm the one doing the romantic speech here."

Before Emma could come up with a retort, Henry suddenly burst into the room, eyes wide and a wide smile on his face. "Did ma say yes?"

Regina turned around and burst out laughing, nodding.

Emma opened her arms. "Come here you two."

The three of them gathered for a hug, content that things would work out for them.

Emma would finally get to experience what it was to be loved and treated just as Emma, not Death.

Regina finally felt her redemption coming to a head. She had the happy ending she always wanted.

And for Henry, he finally felt that his family was coming together.

But of course, nothing could ever be that easy.

* * *

The next day, Emma could just sense that something was different. Regina tried to wave it off, but she could feel it too. As they were walking down Main Street, everyone started crossing to the other side of the road, giving them peculiar looks, and whispering under their breaths.

"She told them," Emma said with a pang. "They know."

Regina didn't have to ask to find out who she was talking about. "What-"

Emma's shoulders slumped as she said, "John Barnable just muttered 'Of course the Evil Queen would align herself with Death.'"

Before Regina could react or even say anything, she felt the air shift. She knew what the shift in air meant: Emma was particularly emotional. As she turned to face her partner, she saw that Emma was heading towards Mary Margaret's apartment. "Emma wait!" she tried to call out.

Emma obviously chose to ignore her and kept on walking, so Regina followed along, catching up once they reached the stairs, reaching out to her to clasp her arm before she could take another step forward. "What are you doing?"

"I need to know why," Emma said, and there was so much hurt in her voice that it broke Regina's heart. Hearing that, she was prepared to wreak havoc on Mary Margaret herself for hurting her fiancée.

And so she let Emma continue up the stairs and patiently stood beside her as Emma banged on the door to Mary Margaret's loft and crossed her arms.

When a sleepy David opened the door and recognized who was in front of him, he immediately backed away, face paling, now wide awake and alert.

"Where is she?" Emma plainly asked, her voice even, not betraying the hurt she felt.

"Why?…You're not getting her!" David exclaimed with a conviction that seemed more bluster than anything.

Regina scoffed, figuring she should step in before either of them wreaked havoc. "Relax Charming, we're here on a peaceful mission."

David let out a mirthless chuckle. "Death and the Evil Queen being peaceful? No way."

Emma huffed, losing her patience, not enjoying his tone or the use of their monikers. "You keep acting that way and you will find out why people fear me."

David crossed his arms and stepped right up in front of Emma. "Is that a threat?"

"David? Who is at the- Oh." Mary Margaret had just approached the door and saw her husband standing toe to toe against Emma. Regina looked torn between smiting David herself, or pulling Emma away.

Emma rounded on Mary Margaret, not moving from her position. "Did you tell the whole town? About who I am?"

Mary Margaret floundered for a second before looking defiantly up at Emma and saying, "I didn't tell anyone. The only person I told was David."

David scoffed, backing away from his impromptu stand-off with Emma before saying, "And anyway, they have a right to know."

"David!" Mary Margaret hissed, reaching out to clasp his arm in an attempt to glare at him.

Regina had had enough. "'A right to know'? You have no right to tell another person's secret."

"She's  _Death_!" David exclaimed, not looking at Mary Margaret. "That's not a secret to be kept. It's a fact to be known!"

Regina saw how that had affected Emma, and the subtle flinch she gave, so Regina stepped close to her fiancée, placing her hand on Emma's back for support, and she muttered, "If you two had a brain between the both of you, you would see that your little misconception isn't doing anyone any favours. Come on Emma, let's go."

Emma followed along in a daze, leaving Mary Margaret and David both stunned.

* * *

"I refuse to let you leave."

They were in Regina's office, Emma pacing while the former sat behind her desk.

"You can't do that," Emma mumbled.

Regina sighed, setting down the pen she had been fiddling with. "I know I can't  _physically_  stop you. But listen to me Emma, just last night you were ready to set down some roots, marry me. You can't let them destroy that for you."

"I'm not- I'm doing this for you and Henry. I mean, I can't let you guys take the brunt of the whispers and comments and judgement."

"Because people don't have plenty to say of the Evil Queen?" Regina dryly asked.

Emma sighed. "That's not what I meant. Death is who I am, not a past I am trying to leave behind. You're not the Evil Queen anymore, you're trying to get a second chance and I'm just holding you back. "

"No," Regina intoned, leaving no room for interpretation. "You're not doing us any favours. How do you think Henry will feel if you leave? How do you think I'd feel?"

Emma floundered. "I-"

Regina continued. "I can understand what you're feeling, but I can't let you just leave Emma. If you want to take a few days to clear your head, I feel it'd be an excellent idea. But please don't leave."

After a few beats, Emma nodded. "I won't. I'll just wrap things up at the station, we can then meet and deal with your mother and her accomplice, then I'll join my helpers for a few days, let the town calm down."

Regina acquiesced, and they shared a soft kiss before they parted ways.

When Emma reached the station, she was surprised to see Mary Margaret there. Before she could open her mouth, the brunette blurted, "I promise Emma, I didn't tell anyone anything."

That threw Emma in for a loop. She hadn't figured Mary Margaret would be so determined to clear her name. "I know."

"You do?"

"You can't lie to Death," Emma said by way of explaining.

Mary Margaret let out a small exclamation of surprise before shaking her head. "Nonetheless...I am also sorry for David's outburst...he has a particular hatred for all things magic. You see, he's had a more superstitious upbringing-"

"So I'm the epitome of everything he dislikes," Emma finished for her.

"Yes," Mary Margaret nodded. "But don't worry, I'm setting the record straight, you don't deserve his or anyone else's ire." Then she took a deep breath and looked around the room. "So…"

Emma raised an eyebrow as Mary Margaret let the word hang. "Yes?"

"Is the position for a deputy still open?" she asked with a sheepish smile.

Emma couldn't help herself and smiled fondly at the other woman's question. "It is. If you want, you can start filling the form, I have to visit yesterday's duo, and then we can talk."

* * *

Emma had visited the underground level of the hospital a few times, and in the past, no one had ever given her any problems as she made her way through the halls. Of course, that was before everyone knew the truth. One thing was to let the Sheriff through, another was to let Death roam the hospital.

As Emma walked now, some of the staff let out little yelps before finding the nearest room to duck into, others stood defiantly in front of their charges as if protecting them. Emma took a deep breath and wished she'd have had the foresight of having turned invisible before coming.

Nonetheless, she persisted, and once she reached her destination she saw Regina already waiting for her. Nurse Ratched didn't even blink or look up, she merely asked, "Rough night?"

"You could say that," Emma wryly responded, sharing a smile with Regina. "Our two newest guests behaved?"

Ratched now looked up, her expression indiscernible as always. "The older lady, Cora, moaned and yelled like a banshee all night long. The other one has remained mute, but she could even give me a run for my money with that glare of hers."

Emma controlled her surprise at the nurse's quip. She honestly hadn't thought the other woman was capable of humour.

"Well, you won't have to deal with them for much longer," Regina responded, heading towards the hallways.

Following her, Emma made her way to Cora's cell. Once she was inside, the older woman finally got a good look at Emma and let out a gasp. "Stay away from me!"

Regina scoffed. "If she had the power to kill you, you'd already be dead."

Cora blinked, registering that information. Then she swallowed and said, "I suppose you've outdone yourself Regina. You got Death as your pet, not an easy feat I'm sure."

"She is no one's pet," Regina uttered.

"And that's not who Regina is anymore," Emma clarified, taking a walk around, noticing how Cora flinched every time she approached her. She decided she would use that to her benefit. "Afraid of finding out what happens should you die?"

Cora scoffed, keeping her eyes on her daughter. "I am not afraid."

Emma let out a mirthless laugh. "Please. Cut the shit Cora. You have killed plenty, you enjoy being on the executioner's side, but you tremble before the thought of having to join those you killed. You cannot lie to me."

That sobered Cora up. "Why are you two here? Do you need me for something?"

"No. Just to tell you that we have made sure you will never find peace." Regina said matter-of-factly.

Cora scoffed. "I will escape." Then she turned to Emma and added, "And then, I don't care who or what you are, I will end you, and with that, I shall become the new Death."

Emma let out a hearty laugh. "Now you're just trying to compensate fear with rage and anger. And I promise you, you won't escape."

"How can you be so sure of that dear?" Cora asked, plastering a calm smile on her face.

"Because you won't remember Storybrooke, or your daughter. You will live the rest of your days in isolation, always missing something, and never knowing what it is. It will drive you insane, and you will suffer for it."

Seeing the fear in her mother's eyes, Regina smirked. "Oh yes, you are about to receive a one-way ticket to the land without magic."

"You won't do that. You're entirely too emotional and soft to do such a thing." Cora countered, her voice trembling ever so slightly.

"Oh not for you, mother," Regina responded.

Emma added, "Plus, she is the one who came up with the idea in the first place."

Cora noticed then that she had no escape via conventional means. "Please, I will do anything," she blurted letting fear seap into her voice.

Regina shook her head. "Oh no, you don't get to sweet talk your way out of this. Emma has already arranged it."

Cora's shoulders sunk. She was out of tricks, and out of words, and now she would get what's coming to her, and she would play along for now, until the opportunity came to escape. If there was one thing Cora knew, was that she always got her way, and that she always won.

* * *

When Emma and Regina entered the next room, the glare they got was positively murderous. The woman was sitting on her cot, arms crossed, like she was angry for having been kept waiting.

"Do you think Cora muted her?" Regina asked.

Emma nodded. "I believe so, but for what reason?"

Regina was stumped. "Only way to know is to return her voice."

And so Emma released the other woman from the spell surrounding her.

"Well about bloody time," were the first words out of her mouth. "I swear I thought I was going to have to undo the spell myself and figure out how to escape from this hellhole."

Neither Emma nor Regina were expecting that, and they both faltered.

The woman stood up from her cot. "I am Zelena, the Witch of Oz."

"The Witch, or one of the cardinal witches?" Emma sought to clarify. Regina meanwhile was watching everything mildly confused.

"The one," Zelena responded with a sniff. "The cardinals were...indisposed."

Regina cleared her throat. "And what, pray tell, were you doing with Cora?"

"Why, I was trying to find you," Zelena stated. Then she added, "You're my sister, and from what I understand, you two are in great trouble."

* * *

Elsewhere, Gold walked towards the old well, and grabbed a vial from the depths of his jacket. He poured the contents and stood watching, patiently. He had set everything in motion, and no matter what the outcome had come of Cora's visit, Gold had had enough of playing his role. He had his son, now there was nothing holding him back. With the town now knowing of Emma's real identity - courtesy of himself of course - the next phase of his ultimate plan could begin. He would amass all the powers in the known universe.

And then he would truly be unstoppable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh dun dun duuun.
> 
> Gotta love dramatic Zelena. Then again, I feel like that's her default setting.
> 
> So, important things are happening, and we only have two more chapters left!
> 
> Next up will be A Thief in the Night, and Equals!
> 
> Love to know your thoughts!


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